I Smittened A Supermodel
by Porahgon-X
Summary: The first ever RaimeiShipping fanfic ever on .  It will be a short story, but decently sized.  If you don't know of this shipping, give it a try.  Let me persuade you ;  RaimeiShipping AshxElesa Ash and Elesa
1. Happy as Lightning

**Ok. I lied again. I am so raring to do this story so I had to. Ch. 2 of ADVS will be uploaded soon.**

**The battle scene later on was...meteocre at best. But honestly, it wasn't that bad. I wanted this chapter to be more of a recap chapter, showing where I saw Elesa liking Ash in their battle, so action was nowhere near my priority. This is going to be my worst chapter. Everything else is going to be AWESOME I promise!**

**Although the start here is very good in my opinion.**

**This is more a happy short story, with little conflict.**

**Oh, and one last note...**

**THIS IS THE FIRST RAIMEISHIPPING FANFIC EVER HERE! OH YEAHHH! So I'm going to make the first one one to remember. It won't be long like another RMS I plan on doing later on, but still.**

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><p>"DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT!"<p>

A character stirred in her bed with the covers pulled forcefully over her head.

"Nguhhhhhh…" She moaned, refusing to surrender her sleep to the hunk of nuts and bolts next to her.

Such a call and response was routine in Elesa's household in the morning.

"If you don't shuuuuuu…"

_Yawnnnnn_

"…uuuut up I'm gonna…oh forget it I'm too tired for this."

"DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT! DUCKLETT!"

A young lady in a yellow T-shirt and sky-blue shorts gracefully swept out of bed. She gingerly straightened her messy bed head. She gently picked up the annoying, pestering clock and proceeded to chuck it forcefully across the room against the wall. Don't worry. She had a lifetime supply of clocks, and she specifically had that wall built out of steel.

Besides, if she didn't wake up explosively, where would she get her enthusiasm?

Now that the Ducklett Alarm Clock had now successfully raised her out of bed, the girl with lemon hair stretched and yawned. She opened the window and stuck her head out the window to take in the fresh Nimbasa air. She closed her eyes and smiled, excited for the coming day.

Elesa is the Gym Leader for the infamous Nimbasa City, "The Entertainment Center of the World." She is a charismatic and optimistic type of person who is always upbeat and smiling and trying her best to show off her Pokemon with the upmost beauty and sparkle. She always thought of a battle as a magnificent show where she tries to make her Pokemon more sparkly and dazzling than her opponent's. She would try to dizzy them with her overwhelming power and appeal.

She is also a hot supermodel. And people say that to mean both ways. She has appeared on 300 different front covers of 50 different magazines and has been awarded over 100 trophies and medals commemorating outstanding model performance, including the Model of the Year Award for local, regional, national, and global. Oh, and she's only been a model for 2 years.

She is also extraordinarily attractive at that. Her skin is cream-colored and is as pure and glowing as fresh snow. She has matured quite early for her age. She is only 14 years old, but could easily pass off as 20. Her body is much curvier than the average 14 year old, and she has grown quite a bit to match that. She usually wore heels because it was the fad for all models these days. It made her look even taller and even more like an actual adult. Her hair is thin and cut short for a teenager and was a bright lemon yellow that matched her personality. The back of her hair has a very Kabuto shell-like shape to it with a hard, pointy end at the end of her neck. Her bangs end with another hard edge that was completely level across her forehead. It melds together except in two places. One place has a definite separation just above her left eye. Another was an obvious line that ran from where this separation started to the opposite side of the top of her head.

One of the biggest wonders about her is the lack of need for make-up. She won all her medals and trophies without one drop of eyeliner or one fragment of mascara. Her beauty is 100% natural. Her eyes are the color of the sky, yet are as bright as a flashlight. Her eyelashes are not only the perfect thickness to bat around attractively, but also the perfect length to appear mesmerizing yet not look awkward.

She didn't try to put on a show when she was out of a battle or off the catwalk, but she is just naturally so charismatic that simply walking to get groceries had the pedestrian zones cleared and the international cameras rolling live. She is also effortlessly dramatic while doing so, and made all her fangirls scream with a girlish delight every time she made some kind of action. Oddly, guys rarely ever, if at all, show up to her catwalks and battles. She attributes this to being 14 yet looking 18. Men who were 18 were attracted to her, but found out her real age and ditched any thought of relationship because of embarrassment. Boys who were 14 thought she was way out of their league and lived in fear of rejection from her.

She had risen her way up the ranks of immobile battling, soaring from a local Pokemon Battle Club attendee to official Gym Leader in 6 months.

She also was NOT a morning person.

But this morning was different. Instead of her usual routine of threatening her crippled and defeated alarm clock on the ground to rip it to shreds right down to the smallest gear, followed by lounging around in bed and not moving at all for an hour, she sprung right out of her room and practically skipped to her kitchen. She was greeted by a surprised Emolga that was busy flying about making its own breakfast. Most Emolga are too immature to do this. But this one was different—it wanted to fend for itself more than usual for its species. And it isn't that Elesa wasn't willing to care for her Pokemon. Quite the contrary actually. Elesa sought to each of her Pokemon's individual desires and needs, from the daily sprinting her Zebstrika loved to the late bedtime her Joltik demanded. She didn't have the job of Noland at the Kanto Battle Factory, but it's always difficult to care for each of your own Pokemon when you're a full time Gym Leader and full time Supermodel.

Elesa literally danced and twirled through the kitchen into her bathroom to change into her standard clothes for the day. She hummed a cheerful tone by her favorite band "Shaymin's Home". She loved the band because their lyrics have a lot of meaning. They sang happy tunes about how life is good and even though things are tough at times, at the end of the day everything is all good and there's no point in being down on yourself. Elesa's always been a very jocund person, but today she had reached the level of blissful ecstasy.

She waltzed out of the bathroom. Her humming had turned into full-blown singing, and her voice was so divine that people wondered why she never took a career in it. She twirled and spun and leaped around the kitchen, trying her best to act like a ballerina. And she was pretty darn good at that too.

In the midst of her dancing, she gracefully scooped up a bowl, poured some oats into it, and poured milk into it. All in what appeared to be one graceful step. She was grinning wide and long. No, she was laughing. Laughing and relishing the very exuberant moment.

Her hair glowed and her skin shined. She loved cutting her hair short, but she wore what appeared to be a headset with long, thin strands of black wire coming off of each headpiece. It was her favorite accessory. She wore it everywhere, everyday, in every costume on every catwalk for every fashion. It wasn't too intricate. It was just one of those simple accessories that made an already attractive person become a knockout on sight.

She had most of her Pokemon out in the open and out of their Pokeballs. She liked letting them fend for themselves and give them a sense of freedom. She recalled them into their Pokeballs when she left the house for efficiency purposes, but still. They were all well trained electric types who knew Elesa like a Stunfisk knew the bottom of a lake. They were used to Elesa breaking out into jubilant life on a daily basis, but in the morning? And at this much of an extreme? They looked at each other and made eye contact that was a lot like "Who is this alien, and what has she done with our Elesa?"

Elesa eventually looked at her Pokemon and noticed their faces. Blushing madly, she stopped her antics and tried to move around calm and collected. But she was too excited that she was fidgety and full of energy. When she tried to sit down her feet tapped at a fast beat and her eyes shifted from object to object while she tore through her breakfast. She smiled largely, trying to contain her happiness.

Why was she so happy?

She had a special challenger with a rare Pokemon she was raring to see again.

* * *

><p>Ash was up before the Pidoves once again. The sun had barely even said hello to the sky, and the lack of blues and salmons of dawn showed it. Ash swept his legs out of bed and stretched his arms and legs while yawning his signature wake up yawn. He walked downstairs and out of the Pokemon Center. He stepped outside, and paused for a moment to soak in the warmth of Nimbasa City and smell the fresh air.<p>

For a hustling and bustling city, the smog level was uncannily low, basically being about zero. All thanks to Elesa and her ideas of gas-free appliances and attractions. That was the case with every city with an Electric-Type Gym. The leaders always bestowed their incredible knowledge of electricity to upgrade the town to the max. Sunnyshore City was good with its completely solar powered city, but still. This was special in of itself. This was the case with all of these kinds of cities except Lt. Surge and Vermilion City. He was a jerk.

Elesa on the other hand, wasn't. Ash thought about her for a moment and found himself thinking about how tough she would be. Bianca may be a new trainer, but she definitely wasn't a bad one. Elesa made her look like a second-rate scrub. She may be a supermodel, but she obviously didn't fuss around with her job as a Gym Leader. It couldn't be clearer that she trained hard with her Pokemon, and yet _still _kept the town in shape. He made a mental note to not let her good looks get to him, because she obviously didn't battle like a prissy little celebrity.

_Even though she looked better than one, what with her glowing cyan eyes, her electrifying, beautiful lemon hair, her joyful, smiling personality…_

Ash started drooling and drifting off. He had to slap his cheeks to wake himself up.

_Another mental note, don't make mental notes about an attractive girl._

Ash jogged around the Center a couple of times and then sat down under a shady tree the second the sun started coming up. He looked at the sky and studied its looks and the position of the sun. He estimated it to be around 6:00 in the morning. Possibly 5:49 if Nimbasa City was on a special axis of the Planet of Pokemon that had an odd time difference. He learned about this in Sinnoh. It occurred because because Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina's world entrances all existed on one constantly shifting, sporadic line that ended up distorting time among other odd things.

He thought back to the battle and wen t over every possible outcome and start of the battle. He smiled to himself thinking of awesome his strategy was. Confuse Elesa's Pokemon, and attack at his own pace with Palpitoad. Since Palpitoad was a Ground-Type, there was no way Elesa could beat him. His perfect victory was in the bag.

Ash was so excited for his fourth badge, that he couldn't contain his excitement anymore. He pointed his head to the sky and shouted to no one but clouds.

"mmmm…mmmmm…mmmm…mmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaAAAAWWWW RIIIIIGHHHHT! TODAY, IM GONNA WIN MY FOURTH UNOVA GYM BATTLE!"

He pumped his fist in front of him, grinning and brimming with confidence. He was going with a different approach to battle this time. He was using his head to think of a proper strategy as compared to his normal battle style of attacking the Bouffalant by its horns.

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><p>Elesa was doing final check ups in the mirror inside the changing room. Normally she couldn't care less how she looked since being a model rubbed off a sixth sense of style and fashion on a person. But today was different. She was gonna battle Ash and that Pikachu. She had to look jaw dropping for her first battle against a Pikachu, since it will definitely be recorded in a solid number of influential magazines. If she lost her luster, her salary as a model would drop.<p>

And that boy Ash…wow was he something. He made such a great first impression, risking his journey to battle a champion like Bianca's father. He was unaware of Bianca's dad's history as a trainer, but he challenged him for a friend's sake. A friend he didn't even travel with!

He shined brighter than a star. He glowed brighter than a diamond. He sparkled brighter than gold.

_I have to shine just as brightly as he did yesterday. Otherwise my radiance will completely vanish under his own!_

* * *

><p>Ash showed up acting like a total gentleman. He even went so far as to take off his hat and make a curtsy. It almost made Elesa blush.<p>

Ash was so naïve at the beginning of the battle, trying to use a Palpitoad to sweep her 3-0. Elesa thought he was cute in his uncanny approach to the battle. She treated the battle like it was a catwalk contest and tried to show off better than Ash. Her fans loved it. She was being way more majestic and dramatic than usual. They couldn't fathom why, but they honestly couldn't care less.

"OH MY GOSH ELESA IS SOOO COOL!"

"MS. ELESA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON EVER!"

"AHHHH!"

These reactions were typical everyday. But today the crowd was going nuts. Girls from as far as Nimbasa Town were rushing as fast as they can to the City of Entertainment to watch Elesa.

Little did they know they had the humble trainer standing opposite their favorite Electric user to thank for their live performance.

Meanwhile Elesa kept on trying to show off greater than Ash did yesterday. Even though it looked clear from the beginning of the battle she and her Zebstrika were all over Ash and Palpitoad like a Sawk all over a fighting dojo, she didn't feel like she was anywhere near as sparkly as Ash was yesterday.

Though, at some point, Ash's spirit came through. After a nailed Double Kick, Palpitoad should have been knocked out. But that fighting spirit she saw in Ash earlier came through to his Vibration Toad.

His fighting aura made her head spin.

She tried to steady her Lapis-colored eyes and balance her lemon-haired head. She felt like the room was spinning. She had to hold her head in place.

Before she knew it Zebstrika was soaked in mud and water in the wall behind her. She felt a whole beat behind everyone else.

While her head was dropped in humility and her hand was held at her heart, she recalled her speedy Electric-Type.

"You are beautiful, even when covered in mud."

She meant that. Although, it looked like Ash was a bit confused by this.

Something came over her. She was going to use Joltik next, but something coaxed her to use a more challenging opponent for Ash. She felt like she was falling quickly behind and needed to turn this around ASAP. She decided to call out her second most trusted partner, Emolga to counter Palpitoad's Ground-Type advantage. She could play this strategy game too.

Her first move was Attract. She didn't want to give Palpitoad any wiggle room, or have the question of its gender hanging around her head for the duration of the battle.

When she used Attract the first time, she made her signature move and blew a kiss to symbolize its use. This got the crowd roaring.

With Emolga, she made quick work of Ash's Palpitoad. He had forgotten Emolga was part Flying-Type. Considering he looked and passed off as a very experienced trainer, this surprised the Sky-Eyed model. He looked so disappointed recalling his Palpitoad, it made Elesa giggle. Ash then looked like he was pondering what his next Pokemon would be. For a long time.

For a LONGGGGG time.

The referee kept poking at him to speed up, and this annoyed Elesa. She wanted to push her assistant off her stand and tell Ash he could take as long as he wants for her display of rudeness.

_Wait a minute, _Elesa had to mentally snap herself awake. _That's what a referee is _supposed_ to do. Why am I so annoyed?..._

She didn't know.

He suddenly seemed enlightened and ran off. As he was rushing out the door, he asked her to stay put, and that he would be right back. She sweatdropped at the fact that he called out to her specifically.

Her Emolga perched on her arm the way it always did back at home when they were lounging around. She subconsciously held her limb out like she was posing a forearm accessory for a magazine cover. When Ash finally returned her heart skipped a beat.

_Why?_

He ran in apologizing.

"Umm…did you only have that Palpitoad ready Ash?"

All she got was a laugh.

This distracted Elesa for a split second. _Wow that laugh sounds like a fresh Neon light being turned on at an island resort. Cheerful and lighthearted._

"My…so you did..." Elesa gave Ash a look of mock flattery.

After Ash called out a Snivy, she called for her Emolga to use Attract again.

But this time when she blew her kiss she had an urge to spice things up and do something different with it. She didn't know why, she just did it compulsively.

She was blowing her kiss at Ash.

The fact she always blows a kiss when she uses Attract was meant to cover the hidden truth. And the cover worked splendidly, much to Elesa's relief.

The battle raged on and she knocked out Ash's Snivy with more difficulty. She had to remind him that Emolga was also a Flying-Type when he was starting to act overconfident that Snivy was a perfect counter for her Emolga. She basically had to bring him down from the clouds and gave away her not-so-secret secret battle strategy.

_Again, Why?_

The attractive girl started to shine more than Ash.

Ash was struggling to think of his next Pokemon. Elesa was half-tempted to just give him one of her Pokemon that could easily counter her Emolga. It took so much willpower to resist this urge.

_WHY?_

But here came Ash's Pikachu, seeing red from the sideline. That cute yellow rodent that could pack a punch. It seemed agitated at Ash's battling style. At least that's what she heard from his friends on the challenger sideline area. Elesa was relieved that this apparently wasn't how he normally battled, because she wanted to face the true, vigorous, spirited Ash she saw yesterday.

Pikachu shocked Ash with a powerful Thunderbolt and then shouted in his face at the volume of an Exploud's Hyper Voice. The stadium felt like it was rocked to its knees at the volume and power of this little yellow mouse. Everyone went quiet for the first time of the day.

Ash snapped out of his funk and seemed raring to go this time.

Elesa, as ecstatic as ever, called her Emolga, "Go! Paralyze them!"

This was her quote when she needed to make a comeback on an opponent that was light years ahead of her.

After tied Electro Balls, the overpowered mouse rammed into her Emolga with a Quick Attack so fast that Elesa was stuck frozen, staring at the spot where the attack landed when Emolga had already fainted behind her.

Elesa eventually turned and smiled, recalling her Emolga, complimenting its beauty. She flashed a look to the ground, and then to Ash. It was a look of overwhelming jubilancy and admiration. She knew it was time to use her special Pokemon.

She only used it when she faced someone who was way ahead of her in the gym battle, or if she was facing an Elite Four Member. Basically, only in Do or Die situations.

"Ash, you are shining very brilliantly." She giggled and held her head, "It's making _me _dizzy!"

But then she cut into the ensuing cheers from her fans around her, "HOWEVER! I must shine more brilliantly than you!" She strutted forward like she was on a catwalk and then posed her favorite and most jaw-dropping pose right then and there for Ash. She flashed him a look that had two different characteristic sides. One she figured Ash would get, the other she hoped he wouldn't. Her slightly open mouth smiled at Ash with a fiery look in her eyes. Her two fingers making deuces in front of her distracted the user to her fiery eyes. Her pose was simplistic yet powerful. It made a statement of beauty and elegance.

One take on her look was that she meant business.

The other take was that it was flirtatious.

Ash really had made the supermodel serious.

So her most she sent out her most powerful, Tynamo.

Her Tynamo did fabulously well. When she thought she'd won, she smiled and closed her eyes, assuming his defeated Pikachu had lost all radiance.

But, for the first time in her life, she had misjudged a Pokemon's shininess.

Ash got through to Pikachu, and she was thoroughly impressed with its determination. But she needed this battle to end.

"One last tackle Tynamo!"

The biggest mistake she had made in the battle.

Pikachu made her Pokemon attack her from one direction and before Elesa could get it to stop, it fell into Ash's trap. One well placed Iron Tail later, she was defeated.

But she couldn't care less she shined less than Ash. His presence was with her in her defeat. And that made her happy for some reason.

_Why?_

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><p><strong>Mehh. OK at best.<strong>

**But still I was extremely impressed with my intro. Please bear with me and know this will be my worst chapter for a while, but it sets the stage for later on really well.**

**R&R and etc.**


	2. Where the Cornn Takes You

**HOLY...uhmmmm...WOW did I get great feedback! I don't think I would ever get so many favorites, alerts, and reviews! You guys are all awesome!  
><strong>

**So here it is...Chapter 2. Although it is a bit lacking of real juice...it had pod plot development and some good humor and creativity. Hope you like it.**

**Chapter 3 I predict to be decently long.**

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><p>Ash looked up at the starry night sky. He can honestly say Nimbasa City is the only big town he's ever been to that has been able to maintain smog levels so well that you could see the stars at night. He noticed a few specific ones that were really meaningful to him. The main of which was the Serebii, which was supposed to resemble Celebi. It was small and only consisted of but 5 stars. But these stars were so bright you could see the full constellation at sunset. Ash liked how bright those five stars were. Another main star was the brightest of them all – the North Star. It was connected to constellation that looked like Gardevoir. However by itself, it represented the electric pouch on a Pikcahu.<p>

_My old friend…_

The Giant Ferris Wheel glowed with its bright Neon lights along with the rest of the attractions around that area. They were luminescent and were looking oddly majestic at night. It compelled Ash to go over and party the night away in the amusement park, even though it was o'dark thirty in Nimbasa.

He had just finished a solid dinner battle with Pikachu. It came down to the wire, as they had to go into overtime with dessert. His mouse won by just a few specs of whipped cream, and Ash acted like he needed to storm outside to vent over his loss.

But Pikachu knew better. One, he has beaten Ash all the time in these late night, after-battle dinner wars. Two, Ash wasn't a sore loser and would accept defeat with a smile and a laugh while he would sheepishly hold his hand behind his head while blaming it on indigestion or something. Three, he was Ash's best friend. He could smell a rat in any of Ash's badly covered up plots from a mile away. Iris and Cilan would eventually learn how to do this too, because Ash really was awful at lying. You would sooner find a vicious Chansey than you would find a deceitful lie from Ash.

Pikachu trudged through the slightly ajar door to the balcony on the roof of the Center from the fourth floor, left-wing hallway. He saw Ash leaning over the railing and staring peacefully at the sky with a bright smile. Pikachu lifted his head and soaked in the beauty of the bright moon and the aura of all the stars that melded together so well. He closed his eyes and smiled, remembering all the times he and Ash had been outside in the night sky together and all the memories than came with it.

He walked up to his trainer and hopped onto Ash's shoulder. He rubbed the red pouches on his cheeks against Ash's face. Ash laughed at the ticklish sensation this action gave him and stroked the underside of his partner's chin. Pikachu "Chaa"ed to that and was happy his trainer was still happy. If he was in a thoughtful state, he could either be deeply upset, or simply happy.

Ash's expression changed to a more thoughtful one as he went back to staring at the city from the Pokemon Center balcony.

The yellow mouse interrupted the silence.

"Pikachu?" he suddenly asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu responded.

Ash closed his eyes and took in a deep gulp of air before heaving a big sigh.

"I feel oddly happy about staying here longer. Like, at first I was raring to get to Driftveil City ASAP as soon as Elesa told me about the city. But now, I wish I could just stay here for a long time. Like longer than just the short time until the drawbridge is fixed. I dunno why…"

"Piiikaaa. Chu, pika-chu!" Pikachu scolded him.

Ash stared at him for a while and blinked his eyes a few times.

"Whadya mean I'm full of it?" He looked perplexed.

"Chaaaaa, pika pi."

Ash was taken aback by his rodent being so accusatory.

"I AM NOT THINKING ABOUT ELESA!"

Pikachu just laughed at him.

Ash blushed and quickly moved his head to the sky again.

"Well…I don't know Pikachu. I've never really felt anything like that for anyone before. I don't feel any different about Elesa, so I think its safe to assume I don't like her like that."

"Piiiii?"

Ash quickly jerked his head to confront his mouse. "How do YOU win?"

"Chuuu. Pikachu, pika." His best friend smirked like he had won.

Ash looked fuming at first and puffed up his cheeks. "Yea I was thinking about Elesa so I guess you…doo…uhh…iguessyoudokindajustsortawin."

"Piiiika?" He asked innocently.

"I SAID YOU WIN!"

Pikachu doubled over in laughter. Ash, blushing again, looked back to the sky.

Although, Pikachu was convinced Ash didn't like Elesa. As dense as Ash acts, Pikachu is among the few who knows it is just part of Ash's rash character that made him look dense. He is even more attentive to detail with girls that Brock was. He just hides his knowledge of the so-called feminine species subconsciously just by being him, unfortunately. It has driven away many different girls whom Pikachu knew had strong feelings for him: Misty, May, Dawn, and many others who he has met along his journey. Ash knows this fact too, but he always put girls behind battling since his dream of being a Pokemon Master would only get bogged down with a girlfriend. For a 12 year old, he really has his head on straight when it came to priorities.

However this Elesa girl was different from the norm.

Pikachu thought nothing of her. He always assumed gym leaders were too old for Ash. Having to battle against them in a Pokemon battle didn't help with Pikachu's bias there either. So he thought Elesa was like all the other girls Ash had battled—just another person to beat. Besides, she probably won't ever think about him as a boyfriend. She was too beautiful, too popular, and mainly she was too old for him. At least she looked it.

However Ash had done nothing but think about her. Pikachu knew this, and couldn't help but feel concerned like a proper best friend should.

Ash spoke again after the silence, "Yeah bud, you're right as always. But I can't help but think about how well she treated me today. All gym leaders have their own personality. Obviously Elesa is more optimistic and cheerful than anyone else we've ever met, but…she treated me today totally different than yesterday when I was with Bianca. Although she has always addressed me with the upmost respect, like I was some kind of honorary guest at the Nimbasa Gym, not just another challenger. She had her crowd more riled up than usual, and she seemed to compliment me more than any other gym leader had ever before. And don't get me started on how she acted in our battle. She posed and showed off in the battle more than she did on the catwalk, and I can swear she directed some of those looks and kisses towards me. She was practically being flirtatious! Also, she seemed distracted by my battling style, and told me I taught her something valuable at the end of the battle. Now don't get me wrong, I know I have a bad habit of teaching gym leaders the pros of battling as a one-hearted being with your Pokemon. But still, considering her personality and how well trained her Pokemon were, I think it's safe to say that that isn't a foreign concept to her. I just opened her eyes to it more…but why me? Not one of her previous challengers?"

There was a long, pregnant pause as both Ash and Pikachu didn't know what to say to that. So they just stood quietly, contemplating what he had just said.

After a while, Ash broke the silence and yawned at the same time as Pikachu. They raised the pitch and sound of their yawns in complete unison. And hilariously enough, they ended at the exact same time, too. They looked at each other and blinked for a while, then hit the deck laughing. They were even in unison with that, which didn't help the fact they looked liked maniacs up on the balcony of the Nimbasa Center. Good thing it was practically midnight, and the city was empty at the moment.

Wiping a tear from his eye from the laughing, Ash yawned once more.

"-_yawwwwnnn-_awwwwwiiiiIIIII think its time for bed buddy. It's been a long day. I can think about this in the morning."

Pikachu didn't hesitate to agree, exited for the chance to rest his tired, power-drained body that was screaming for a refuel after today's hard battle.

And so with that, Ash opened the door to the Center bedroom hallway and led Pikachu inside where they opened the door to room 204 where Iris and Cilan were busy snoozing away.

But he took one look back at the beautiful full moon, and felt a strange sensation in his heart. He had to pause for a moment and clutch it before he moved on.

* * *

><p>Elesa stared up at the moon and felt a strange sensation in her heart. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. But it was there. And it was the best feeling she has ever had. And she's had a darn near perfect life.<p>

Near.

Elesa was still up, as late at night as it was. She normally went to bed before 9, 8 on a good day. She lived by the motto, "A good night's sleep keeps one young and attractive." So as a model, she had to look as youthful as possible. Which is funny, since she looked anything but her age.

She was leaning over the railing surrounding her garden on the roof of her house. She wasn't a Grass-Type master, but she still appreciated the warmth and smell that plants produced and emanated. The aroma was nice for keeping her sense of smell true. She made sure she bought the plants with the nicest fragrances in the world. Since she was gone during the day modeling, battling, or just having a nice, relaxing day on the town, she only could flirt around the house when it was nighttime. So she also made sure to plant moonflowers and nightshades and plants that looked beautiful at night. She especially loved the way her Cornn Berry plants looked in the moonlight, what with their beautiful violet fruit and dazzling white blossoms. They looked like heaven in fruit form in the right moonlight.

She had heard stories about how Cornn Berries flourish the best when the caretaker of them was in love. She was a gentle and caring plant-lover, and thought this story meant if you were in love with the plant, it would flourish. She would pull on her thick, leather gardening gloves on some of her days off, get on her hands and knees, and sweat and work until she was satisfied with her finished product. And it worked fabulously, caring for each plant individually, as her garden was big and majestic, almost like an organized jungle with marble walkways. She was so good, the press had recently started labeling her as a master gardener, and she even made the front page of Unova Today with a full color picture of her winking at the camera and giving a "peace" sign with her right hand to the camera with her gardening glove on while holding a trowel in her left fist, balled up on her hip.

Elesa closed her eyes and let her head drop while smiling coolly. She was busy thinking, and couldn't go to sleep. The lemon-haired girl had done everything in her power to try and get out of her own mind. She was changed into her nightclothes, and had tossed and turned for over an hour under the covers. She tried throwing some Ducklett alarm clocks at her steel wall (she hated them all times of the day, not just morning). She tried running a full sprint around her house for 10 minutes. She even had a cup of Jabocacinno with extra sugar to try and drug herself to sleep. Nothing worked. Her mind was stuck thinking about that boy, Ash.

She decided to trace back to square one, when she first saw him.

She was in the middle of a fashion show, posing some of the latest fashions of the Unova region. She liked some, but other she just didn't seem to put her head around liking. Nonetheless, she was forced to wear them, and smile while doing so. And she won't complain…it's not like it's complete hell to have people drooling over you and wanting to have your clothes and cuteness.

All of a sudden she hears an exotic animal she had never seen before, she had only heard of. Her heart took a leap and started becoming dizzy. She looked over her shoulder and saw a Pikachu perched on the shoulder of a handsome guy with a Pokeball Cap. She jumped in one graceful move over to him and got in close proximity to him and his awesome mouse. She realized she had gotten a bit close for comfort to him, and blushed at her actions, but she couldn't help but examine Pikachu. She later apologized to him for being so startling.

Elesa made sure to address him respectfully at all times. She did this because he had a Pikachu, a Pokemon she had only dreamed of meeting, and now it was here in front of her face. If she was courteous enough and strong enough, maybe he would use it against her. She loved battling electric types even though she only uses them, because in the end it became a war of wits and will. She loved this, and was said to be most charismatic when facing an electric type.

_And a Pikachu? PPPPPFFFF! I probably knocked people of their feet with my actions!_

While she was battling Bianca, she put her all into it. She felt like making a good first impression to this young man named Ash would induce him into using Pikachu when she eventually battled him, knowing he was a challenger. She glanced over at one point and noticed he was clearly rooting for Bianca. At first she felt sad, but that went away quickly.

_He's Bianca's friend! Why would he root for the opposition?_

Elesa efficiently took care of Bianca and swept the match with just her Zebstrika. When the trainers left the gym, she stayed behind and signed a few autographs. But pretty soon, something compelled her to go check on how they were doing. She apologized for suddenly leaving, and blew a kiss to her audience. Her fangirls would fight over that for a few minutes and buy her some time to escape.

She saw Bianca call out her Shelmet to see how it was doing, and she almost went through the front doors to go and say "Hi". But she stayed back to see how things would unfold first.

_No sense making an entrance too soon…I learned that a while back while modeling. _

One thing led to another, and all of a sudden she saw Bianca in despair. She sighed and felt bad for her, wanting her to be able to stay. But her father had a point. Bianca was a bit clumsy form what she could see, and she did lose a bet. Yet…

Ash looked in despair too.

The Gym Leader had had enough.

She walked through the doors and intervened, making a proposal that no one with half a heart could refuse—go to the Pokemon Center and heal up injured Pokemon. Ash smiled. Her day was made.

…Wait, what? He was just another challenger…right?

_Whatever. What's done is done. If my heart felt it necessary, it was necessary to be done._

When she was treated to a fabulous lunch of Cilan's cooking, she was surprised even with the knowledge of him being a connoisseur. He had battled her once, way back when she was in Striaton City running an errand for a good friend of hers. They battled one on one, and it ended with her as a victor. He offered a gym badge, but she thankfully turned the offer down, stating she was trying to become a gym leader as well, since it was the one thing Nimbasa City needed. There were already 9 gyms in Unova, but Nimbasa, as thriving a city as it was, didn't have one.

She purposely sat across from Ash at the lunch table, so they could make eye-to-eye contact a lot. One time, they stared at each other for a while. Elesa closed her eyes and bopped her head to the side while holding her hand up next to her face. It was her indication of friendliness. Ash returned the favor by closing his eyes while chuckling and then opening one of his eyes while flashing a toothy smile out of the same corner of his mouth.

She was gauging his personality, since a person battled a lot like they acted. So far she had seen a kind and caring yet rash and hasty trainer. She saw no signs of malice or shrewd character. He probably battled recklessly head-on using spirit and determination as keys to victory.

_That's why it was so odd how he tried to be intelligent and use strategy in his battle at first. Of course he did revert back to his, I presume, usual style at the end and win, but still…why did he try and use his brain to beat me? And from what I hear from Cilan and Iris, this was extraordinarily odd on his part. Could it be that he thought I was too good to beat without his brain…_

Elesa giggled thinking about him with a pad of paper and a pencil, discussing strategy with his Pikachu on his bed…getting Pikachu fired up, and then suddenly disappointing him.

Her brain started to wander again…

He had been so quick to challenge Bianca's father for her sake. This greatly impressed the Headphone Girl. She would find out later they didn't even travel together all the time. This made Elesa all the more interested in him. However, when he made gamble risking his journey in Unova, she became both severely overwhelmed with happiness from his awesome display of chivalry, and severely overtaken by a sense of painful worry.

Happiness because Ash had just done something she had never thought any guy would do in their life.

Worry because now if Ash lost to Bianca's Papa, she would never battle him.

No scratch, that, she would never see him again.

Once again she had to intervene. She had to do something that would excuse her to make sure he stayed. She didn't know why, but she just had to.

She decided to referee. She wouldn't make a purposeful wrong call; that was going a bit too far on any level, and was too low for her. But it gave her an excuse to stay behind and make a convincing speech or something when it was done to make sure Ash could stay. For a model, she was really well spoken, and could cajole pretty puch anyone into doing pretty much everything.

But she never had to. Even though Ash lost, he still had convinced the Red Flash Warrior to let him and Bianca continue their journey, just by being him. Elesa was relieved more than any words could describe.

And today…she didn't need to recall today. She had continued subconsciously addressing him formally for no reason at all. She had been unconsciously flirtatious. She had become more convivial and intense in the battle than anything he had done warranted.

_What is this feeling inside of me? It's unlike anything I've ever felt before. Ash…he's an amazing battler. A superb person. And an attractive guy, too._

She sighed and looked back at her Cornn Berries. She had no poof, but she swore to the fact they had started becoming a bit richer in their purple color since she had walked up here about an hour ago.

Elesa was exhausted now. Her mind was racing everywhere, but something just hit her out of nowhere. Something she hadn't expected. Jabocacinno?

_No…I'm just sooo…_

Those were the last thoughts of the Nimbasa City Leader as she crumpled to the ground in her garden, falling into a quiet, peaceful sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>I would like to take a moment to recognize the following line...<br>****"Elesa made sure to address him respectfully at all times"  
><strong>**Although this WON'T happen in the dubbed version, the subbed version has Kamitsure (Elesa) always...ALWAYS address Satoshi (Ash) with Satoshi-kun...which is a form of respect towards guys in Japan.**

**I ALSO FRIGGIN HATE POKEMON, INC USA! Its almost been 3 weeks without a new episode...and the next episodes are the ones with Elesa in it! C'MON! Ash is already super far along (not spoiling ANYTHING for anyone)! :( Not only that but its been 2 weeks since they last subbed a Japanese episode...they is SLAKING (C wut I did dere?)**

**Anyways enough ranting. R&R.**


	3. Static Sucks

**Alright guys.**

**How'd you like that English dub of Elesa's gym battle?**

**"I plan on dazzling you too Ash" (In a suggestive voice)  
>...Oh do you Elesa? Oh do you?<strong>

**I couldn't be happier with the dub. I thought they would go and mess up everything like the English people normally do...but no! They just gave us more meat :)**

**Also, Elesa is set to reappear not after this coming Japanese show, but the one after. Which means in a couple weeks + 2 days (for subbing...unless you're fluent in Japanese. Then you deserve MAJOR brownie points) we will see our beloved lemon haired girl once more...and that means more hints! ;)**

**'Nuff dawdling. Here ya go, the patiently awaited 3rd installment of _I Smittened a SupermodeS_**

* * *

><p>"…yaaaaaaAAAWWWWWWwwwww…" Elesa slowly rubbed her watery eyes awake.<p>

The first thing she noticed was the obvious fact she wasn't curled up in bed….and her arm was shouting to her that she didn't exactly fall asleep in the most comfortable position.

The second thing she noticed was that the sun was just peeking above the horizon. Elesa gaped at it, mesmerized by the beautiful yet faint blues, yellows, and oranges that were leaking across the Nimbasa Sky. Since there was absolutely no pollution in her beloved city, the sun can be seen by everyone in its full beauty. People were opening up their apartment windows and stepping out on their roofs to take in the spectacular sight. It made Elesa grin.

The third thing she noticed was an annoying sound coming from within her house.

"Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett! Ducklett!"

A pleasant morning screech followed by an "AHHHH C'MON!" came from the girl with lemon hair.

She stormed into the house in a rambunctious manner of plowing through everything and anything that was in her way of the pesky Water-Flying automaton. Metal pots clanged, wooden desks boomed, paper forms fluttered, an annoyed Emolga screamed.

"Ohhh, sorry for waking you up Emolga!"

"E-MO."

"Alright go make yourself some breakfast."

"EMO EEEE-MO!"

Elesa ignored that last comment.

She finally reached her room and zoomed across it to the pesky clock. She viciously grabbed the bird and manhandled it in her hand. She stared menacingly and victoriously at the defeated bird. She got a weak and pleading "DUCKLETT!" from the clock. Well…it felt weak and pleading to Elesa. She wound her arm up slowly, relishing this torturous end to the Ducklett…

The Ducklett stopped chirping its alarm in her arm right before she threw it.

Elesa stopped short of chucking the poor clock and looked at it. For a second she felt sympathy for the inanimate object. Annoyed that she didn't break it before the alarm reset, she started to throw it again, when suddenly she heard a heart-stopping echo outside.

"Pi-pikachu!"

Elesa stopped right where she was, her arm halfway over her head deathgripping the Ducklett clock, her body leaning over her floor. Her eyes opened wide with surprise whilst her cheeks flushed over with anticipation. She tossed the clock over her right shoulder, completely forgetting the nuisance ever existed. She sprinted as fast as a fit, athletic, tall model could sprint while barefoot. She flew past her dinning room table, spun around the sharp turn upstairs, whizzed past a swearing and tired Emolga, and hurdled the garden steps, 3 at a time. The girl with sky eyes went to the edge of her garden and stared out, searching for the familiar mouse.

More importantly, for the mouse's trainer.

Her eyes twinkled as they scanned the rooftops. She murmured to herself, "…no not there…not over there…oh hey there Ginger…no that's just a grumpy old man…that's Nurse Joy's Audino…that's a fruit basket salesman…that's…uh I dunno what that is."

As hard as she tried, she couldn't find the one thing she had dreamt about the night before, the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about.

So Elesa sulked back into her room, prepared to take her anger out on a random Ducklett clock (since that's all they were useful for, really). Little did she know a pair of amber eyes followed her inside. Well, her and her sloppy hair.

* * *

><p>Ash's nose twitched. He slowly sat up in bed. He yawned.<p>

After taking in a big gulp of air the boy with raven hair scanned left to right for his favorite partner. Before he had a chance to even search the entire bed, his beloved friend jumped up on his shoulder and rubbed his cheek against Ash's. It was a rough gesture, but this is Ash we're talking about—he likes rough gestures. In that way Pikachu and him were perfect partners.

He looked around and noticed it was still fairly dark, and his friends Iris and Cilan were still practically dead in the comforters the Center provides. It was pretty funny, seeing a formal connoisseur sprawled in a dead man's position, drooling with his mouth open. And Iris…she was sucking her thumb.

_Boy, will that girl know whom she's calling "KID" later on hehehehe_.

Ash would never actually hold something like that against someone. But he did fantasize the outcomes if he did, and pretend like he would grass on the victim.

He decided the best thing to do would be to walk out on the roof. So he gathered himself and snuck through the door like a Shedinja.

Ash never really needed much sleep, so the few hours he got were plenty. But all the same, even though he was accustomed to moving around in the dark, he wasn't exactly a pro at spotting out coffee spills on the floor.

He was strolling along, enjoying life when suddenly his right foot lost its grip on a small but concentrated puddle of Chilan standard-issue decaf right before the stairs.

"wah…wahh…WAH…WAHHH…WAHHHHHHHH!" He progressively shouted on his fall downward. He slipped 180 degrees on the puddle, causing himself to fall backward, and couldn't catch himself. So the only thing he could do was brace himself for a hard landing.

The hard landing never came. Instead he landed on the soft body of Pikachu.

And his mouse did not appreciate one bit of it. "PI-PIKACHU!"

"AHH! Sorry Pikachu!" Ash apologized as he rolled over to prevent his Pokemon from getting hurt any worse. He did a thorough check up on the Mouse Pokemon. Luckily for him, his Pikachu was perfectly fine. Annoyed and a little winded, but fine. He decided it would be a good idea to scoop up his buddy anyway and carry him up the stairs cradled in his arms as compensation. Pikachu liked this, even though it did make him look like a baby. No one was looking, so it was okay right now.

When he got to the top he let Pikachu down so it could scurry around and take in the fresh air.

Ash looked over and saw what was possibly the most beautiful sunrise he had ever experienced in a city. Pretty soon he noticed he wasn't alone. He saw multiple people getting out of their houses and apartments to soak in the pleasurable yellow glow. He walked around the staircase and saw Audino using Heal Pulse from the fresh happiness of the moment. Ash smiled. He looked to the left and saw the judge from his gym battle yesterday…_What was her name? Ginger?_... who didn't see Ash and walked back inside. Ash looked over and saw Pikachu mesmerized by Audino's Heal Pulse, swaying back and forth with his eyelids closed. This made Ash chuckle to himself.

He then went around the bend once more and noticed a beautiful house separated from the rest of the city's edifices. It wasn't large. It wasn't spectacular. It wasn't even a mansion. Yet it was very modern and aesthetically appealing. There was even a blooming and flourishing garden on the top floor that really took Ash aback and made him whistle.

But what captured his attention wasn't any detail about the house itself. No, what captured his attention was a young teenager with short lemon hair in the process of whirling around and sulking back inside. And he followed her all the way inside, staring at the beauty of Elesa. Even when in a momentarily sad state, she had a positive glow about her that captivated and brightened everything around her.

It wasn't until after she had disappeared from his sight did he realize her hair was in ultra-messy mode. He attempted to contain his laughter, so he started puffing out sputters. Until he couldn't help but crack up and buckle over laughing hysterically.

You would too if you saw the most beautiful girl in the world who happened to be an ELECTRIC-Type Gym Leader with hair that looked like Static Electricity had a rave party on her head.

* * *

><p>Elesa was staring at the floor walking in the house. She was feeling down about failing to find Ash.<p>

_But why?_

She shook her head and roughly cupped her hands to her cheeks in a way of shaking herself up.

_Whatever. He's staying for a few more days until the drawbridge is fixed, so SMILE!_

With that thought, the usual Elesa roared back to life with vengeance. She twirled down to her kitchen and said hello to all her precious. She did a sassy ballet move into the changing closet, laughing as she closed the door behind her to change into her clothes.

Meanwhile all her Pokemon were once again staring out after her, astounded by how cheerful and ecstatic their trainer was for the second day in a row. They couldn't tell what it was that made her so happy.

_But whatever it is, we need it to stay. _

_Yeah, we agree Zebstrika._

_I've never seen her so happy in her life! And this is ELESA we're talking about! Her average sad day is like everyone else's average happy day!_

_BUT SHE STEPPED ON ME WHILE I WAS SLEEPING!_

Oh hush Emo, just eat your cereal.

…_-murmurmurmurmurmur-…_

_WHAT was that, HMMM?_

Emolga just munched on her oats, refusing to respond out of contempt and embarrassment.

This made Tynamo chuckle. _Well whatever happened to Elesa, we need to make sure it continues to keep Emolga in this bright, positive mood!_

Everyone got a laugh out of that.

Inside the closet, Elesa was too busy singing to herself in her melodic voice to overhear the chatter in the living room. Although, all she would hear is stuff like "" and "Jolt! Joltik!" and "EMO" and…you get the point. Even though she was good at understanding and translating her own Pokemon, it would have been so muffled through the door she wouldn't make much sense out of anything.

She had requested 3-5 days off from the big kahunas at the Unova League Center. Personally she planned to go back as soon as Ash left, since he was basically the main reason she was staying behind.

"OHHH and don't ya KNOWWW! OH. How .Don't. You .KnoooooooooOOOOOOW! I feel like-a Luvdisc high at-the-nearest coral. reef, and like-a Donphan rolling in the dirt at-the-nearest oak. tree. Oh how don't ya know babaaaaaAAAAAYYYYYY! I can't sing thissssss…..withoutttt youuuuuuu."

She smiled singing her favorite lyric from Shaymin's Home's recent album Deep Down in Sky Forme.

And don't get me started on her dancing.

She gracefully swept on one of her favorite holiday outfits. It consisted of a top that was deep maroon with red-orange trim, fancy black stripes sweeping majestically across her chest and down to her pocket areas. Her shorts were a solid navy blue and cut off halfway above the knee.

She spun around while humming and picked up her headphones from their golden rack and slipped them on. She leaped over to the mirror and adjusted them to where they should be. Well, that was her idea.

Then she saw her hair.

"AIYEEEEEE!" she shrieked, losing her rhythm. She fell flat on her face.

Dusting herself off, she stamped into the bathroom, disgruntled about the unfortunate circumstance.

_Hopefully no one saw me in THAT…especially not Ash! Oh gosh what would he think of me then!_

She got a hot washcloth and dampened down her hair. She twirled a hairbrush specially designed for her type of hairstyle by a professional, nationally renowned barber. She tossed it in the hair, letting it do a 720 McTwisty before nabbing it behind her back and flipping it back to her original hand. She smiled at her smooth act.

_Too bad no one saw that._

She giggled at herself as she started to brush her hair down.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry.<strong>

**It's not long, I know...(that's what she said hehe)...but please guys gimme a break. I think this is a very good chapter, and quite comical at that.**

**The next story WILL be LONGER and be more centered on ASH. I PROMISE, and I NEVER try to break a promise.**

**Until then, watch the Pokemon English Dubs of Elesa (esp. the gym battle) and R&R**


	4. Just Another Passhocino

**Well hey guys! Miss me? I iz back and isn't going away. To make up for my absence I will put out my next update in 4 days. For more information on why I was gone, check my profile if it is under the (4/8/12) update.**

**Other than that, I WAS SO TICKED when I found out Elesa reappearing was a false alarm. Sorry for providing the information. It just ended up being Cilan dressing up as her. I hope she reappears at some point.**

**SO without further ado, Ch. 4 of my RaiMei fic.**

* * *

><p>"WAITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A voice echoed off walls in the station.<p>

Ash was running across the polished tile floor, trying to catch his subway in time.

_Why didn't I bring Cilan along with me today…_

It was the same morning that he had seen Elesa and her…new?...hairstyle. He had rushed ahead of Cilan and Iris, dashing out the door before they were even awake. He wanted some quality alone time today, a day just to him and Pikachu. Not that he disliked being with friends…he just wanted to seclude himself today to allot time to his own thoughts. Pikachu? Well Pikachu was the type of friend that you could voice all your thoughts to without fear. Kinda like their minds were one in the other.

But Ash made sure to strategically place a full-body mirror right in front of Iris so she could wake up and see how much of a "child" she looked like. A little mini-payback.

Ash wasn't all too encouraged, as words gingerly slipped past his teeth.

"Ah, well, she'll get me back anyway, in some way or another. I just can't win against that girl."

The trainer knew himself well enough to know if he brought his Pokemon along, he would attempt, and probably succeed, to engage in some type of Pokemon competition. Whether it was a pick-up street battle or some large-scale tournament, anything Pokemon was like a high-voltage magnet for him. So he left every Pokemon he had on him at the Center, given Pikachu of course. Pikachu he saw more like a very close friend than a Pokemon. 'Course, that's how he saw all his Pokemon. That's just how Ash was. Pikachu was just so close to him they may very well have been the closest of brothers. And that's basically how they treated each other. Brothers.

Just Pikachu seemed to act like the sarcastic older brother a bit too much for the taste of the expert traveler.

But today was a day of relaxation. He thoroughly enjoyed battling, yes, but today was a day where he HAD to avoid touching a Pokeball.

Pikachu was happy for him making the mature decision, because this equaled to getting some quality time with Ash, time to be buddies.

Their first stop for the day was Nimbasa National Park. It wasn't like a National Forest Park like Viridian Forest, or some exotic natural area like Dewford Coral Reef Reserve. It was just a super huge, man-made forest branching off of the amusement park. All the same though, it was renowned for its biodiversity in flora.

So Pikachu and Ash came prepared.

"Alright Pikachu, let's see if we have everything," Ash said as he started rustling through his pack, poking his head around it while they sat down in the subway car.

"Pi-Pikachu." Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder to oversee his investigation of the disjumbled void known as his backpack.

"Alright let's first find the sunscreen…hmmmm where did I put it again?"

Ash furrowed his eyebrows and squinted while feeling around with his hand, as if to show the search for the smooth and squishy plastic bottle was excruciatingly painful.

And clearly he was having some difficulty.

"Ahh c'mon where'd ya go? That feels like my jacket…that feels like some chips…that feels like the chip bag…that feels like a spoon…what do I have a spoon in here for?…AHA!"

Ash triumphantly pulled out his bottle of…

"…Piiiika?"

The famous mouse sighed and gave Ash a rhetorical look like "really?"

What the raven-haired boy just pulled out was a bottle of Repel.

"PIKA!" The Mouse Pokemon folded its arms and faced away from its trainer, disgusted and disappointed.

Ash sweatdropped and put on a nervous laugh while flushing. "Well, we need this anyway so I guess it works."

He squirted some out in his hand and rubbed it around. He started spreading it around his body. He was about to take his shirt off and layer his skin there but…he suddenly remembered they were in a public car. So he tried to finagle his hand around his tight collar jacket and undershirt. This came out to look like a man who has an unidentifiable itch right on that one spot on your chest and back that you can't possibly reach. And it was the kind of itch that drives you insane until attention is brought to it.

Pikachu ruffled his nose. He was a Pokemon, so the repel really aggravated him. All Pokemon were keen to the horrid stench of the gunk humans call so lightly as "repel." That stuff didn't just repel Pokemon. It made them choke and gag and forget how to breathe.

But Pikachu was used to it by now. He guessed it was because he was occasionally exposed to it. A hobo living in a trashyard would start forgetting what its like to stink, to make a comparison.

Ash noticed his partner's discomfort. "Well Pikachu, thanks for bearing with me here. I know you hate this stuff."

His mouse responded annoyed, "PIKA! CHU!"

Ash was taken aback. "You…what?"

Pikachu instantly regretted uttering his rude remark. It wasn't fair to poke at Ash like that. But…_Let's have some fun before I apologize hehe."_

"Pipika, chupi. PikapikachuPi," he humphed.

Ash's face paled rapidly before starting to steam with anger. "HEY! DON'T MAKE FUN OF ELESA LIKE THAT!"

Pikachu laughed loudly and rolled over on the cushioned bench seat in the car.

Ash got up and grabbed Pikachu with both of his hands and held him up. "If you make fun of Elesa's beautiful aroma ONE MORE TIME, I'm SENDING YOU TO YOUR POKEBALL MISTER!"

Well…that just about shut up Pikachu. His mouse started sweating nervously and gulped a large gunk of nothing.

"…pi…."

Ash was about to continue to furiously scold his brother-like Pokemon, but a random an unexpected chill went down his spine. His face flushed for absolutely no reason. All of a sudden, the car temperature had raised a few hundred degrees…

The boy's face turned to a dumb and soft expression as he slowly turned his head around to look around the small traveling car they were in. What he saw just about froze his liver.

Unfortunately for the duo, Ash didn't just shut up Pikachu. He attracted the attention of just about every other person in the car.

Some men in suits that appeared to be going to work waited for Ash to contact their expressions, and then rolled their eyes, as if they couldn't do this without Ash seeing their disgruntlement.

Some women giggled, thinking it was cute to see a young man act so rashly and loudly.

A few girls whispered to each other about how cute and handsome the loud raven-haired boy was.

But one lone young businessman stepped forward and put his hand on Ash's shoulder. Smiling calmly, he remarked, "So…you like Elesa, don't you."

Ash panicked hearing this. _CRAP! He already put the pieces together! PIKACHU I'M GONNA KILL YOU AFTER THIS!_ He shot Pikachu a look saying exactly that. His partner laughed nervously and rubbed his hand behind his head.

If everyone in the subway hadn't heard exactly what Ash said the first time, they easily picked up on what the man said. In unison, one long, loud gasp swept across the train car.

The girls started to gossip faster than a speeding Rapidash. The ladies started to talk to each other about the possibilities of Elesa finally finding her elusive first boyfriend. The men all whistled and winked at Ash, signaling their totally clearly and completely obviously necessary approval.

The businessman got up and offered his hand for a friendly handshake to Ash. Confused, Ash accepted the offer. The man looked Ash in the eye, his eyes gleaming. He looked the boy up and down to try and get a good figure of who he was. He smiled and stepped back, his eyes glistening.

_What is going on here? _Ash said as he flushed a hard, brick red.

The man in front of him threw his head back and bellowed a loud roar of laughter. He snapped his head back down and showed Ash the pristine white canines out of the corner of his mouth, which shined in the light. He gave Ash a thumbs up and winked at him. He got up and departed without a word, making way for another car.

Pretty soon after the man left, the crowd dispersed. The women wanted to go on about their business, along with the men. The girls probably still wanted to talk about Ash, but just went somewhere else to act like they were doing something else.

Ash and Pikachu blinked a couple times, frozen. Their car was now deserted, dusky, and quiet. What started as a simple lighthearted scavenger hunt for their supplies turned into Pikachu calling Ash's taste of smell bad, which turned into Elesa smelled like a Garbador, which turned into Ash getting infuriated at Pikachu, and finally turned into a strange man in a tie and sports blazer call out Ash on a crush he didn't have. They slowly broke their heads free of the chill spread across the two of them, halting once they made eye contact. They both had the same thought. Ash just spoke it.

"Well…that was odd."

* * *

><p><em>Warning! The subway car connecting from Central Plaza to Nimbasa Park is arriving to its destination blahblahblah! Please keep your hands on the safety rails, or stay seated until the car has come to a complete stop blahblahblah. For your safety, <em>

"PI-I-I-I-I-IKACHUUU!"

Ash's partner was rolling on the floor laughing. Literally.

The raven-haired boy himself had just mocked the entire recorded intercom voice by squinching his eyes together, furrowing his eyebrows, sticking his tongue out, clamping his hands like claws, and making constant "bleh" sounds. It looked like he was an evil joker.

Things had calmed down since the scene made 30 minutes prior. With the exception of the group of girls…

_Who were, when I think about it, extraordinarily attractive._

…who walked by Ash and Pikachu's car, pointing and giggling at Ash in either mockery or admiration. Everyone else seemed to forget the fact Ash existed.

After what seemed like forever, Ash and Pikachu successfully grabbed all their supplies for the morning walk.

As they moved out through the automatic doors and into the station, the duo was greeted by the loud hustle and bustle of Nimbasa City. Hundreds of voices reverberated throughout the area, and the echoes of the occasional loud booming noises from falling luggage (and that one guy who always feels the need to shout for no reason at all) rang through Ash's ears.

He scooped up his partner and gently moved the Electric Mouse's feet up to his shoulder, letting Pikachu do the rest. When they were all situated, he moved out into the sea of people.

When they finally stepped out into the sunlight, warmth from the sun flushed across their faces. A light, cool breeze picked up Ash's sweater and sent an icy breath up his chest.

Pikachu meanwhile was reveling in the pleasure of being outside. He rubbed up against Ash chortling a "Chaaaaa!" in pleasure.

Ash chuckled and scratched the underside of Pikachu's chin.

He readjusted his cap slightly, slamming it down on his head to emphasize the fact he was preparing for some real business to go down…Which basically meant he was going to walk through a city full of tourist shops.

If there's but one memory that doesn't sit well with the amber-eyed boy, it was the excruciatingly painful trips of window-shopping that Dawn and May adored. It's not that he's against other people enjoying themselves, or even so much as that he hates shopping. He actually loves going shopping. Just girls always seem to take it too far. Ash always supposed he just would never understand the need for the perfect outfit, being a boy and all.

Ash thought out loud, "I guess if there's one thing good about Iris, she's not shop-obsessed. She prefers to be more of a survivor than a shopper."

He turned to his buddy to continue to poke fun at his ex-traveling companion's habits when he noticed Pikachu was distracted. He was currently staring intently and enviously at something. His mouse's usual bashful and happy expression was replaced by total bliss, characterized by twinkling eyes and a grin that could only have been granted by Arceus himself.

Ash looked quizzically at his friend and followed his line of sight. He saw that his buddy was staring intently at…

_A restaurant?_

Ash thought this was odd for his buddy to be so entranced by…food.

_HEY! That's my job bro!_

Ash went back to his partner's face to see if his eyes played tricks on him. But low and behold, Pikachu's gaze was static. Ash looked back one more time before he would call Pikachu crazy. Then he saw what Pikachu was mesmerized by.

And he couldn't help but buck over laughing.

This sudden jerk threw Pikachu forward and almost off his shoulder. Luckily for both of them Pikachu had tremendous arm strength for a mouse, and also had a great sense of balance. It did, however, force him to re-stabilize his footing and focus on himself, obliging him off his trance.

The mouse's face filled up with lava. He was about to get extremely mad when Ash picked him up off his shoulder and set him down.

Pikachu thought, _AFTER ALL THAT WORK I DID TO STAY ON, you go and take me off your shoulder?_

Ash looked down at Pikachu with a happy and playful twinkle in his eyes. "I'll be back," he said before jogging off in the direction of the restaurant, disappearing behind the entrance door.

Pikachu ruffled his nose and bobbed his head to the side. He slowly walked forward in Ash's trail to see what Ash was doing.

_What is Ketchum doing? I was enjoying that moment when all of a sudden he laughed and put me down. Clearly he's not ditching me, but what is he doing?_

Totally unaware of the trance he had been in, Pikachu ran about a thousand different thoughts through his brain about what Ash could possibly be doing and why he was doing it.

He decided to take a moment and look around the area. It was basically normal city pedestrian traffic. Young families were full of energy and running all over the place, older couples were relaxed and enjoying time on the rooftops of restaurants, a group of girls was strutting their way in and out of a shoe store…

_Wait, a group of girls?..._

Pikachu didn't have time to complete that thought because abruptly, Ash walked out of the restaurant laughing.

"…and thanks again mister!" he called back towards the building before the door closed. A man in a nice mustache winked at him and kissed his own fingers before waving goodbye through the glass door.

Pikachu dashed forward and confronted his master.

"PIKA!"

Ash ignored his blood brother's remark and just smiled, putting down the plastic bag in his hands. He untied to knot at the top, and backed off, resting his arm on his knee like an athlete, coercing his friend to do the honors. After Pikachu just stared in awe at him for a solid minute, Ash chuckled and gestured him forward while pointing to the bag.

Pikachu slowly crawled forward and stuck his head inside the bag.

What he saw made his day 1000 times greater.

What was once lava in Pikachu's face turned into diamond. He was frozen and entranced for a second, not believing it was real. He blinked a couple times to make sure it wasn't just a dream.

Nope it was real.

All of a sudden it was springtime in Nimbasa. Jumping around in joy, Pikachu sprinted circles around the area. He did a little jig and leaped in the air. He was so enthralled he even used Quick Attack to pick up speed and zip in and out of wherever he wanted. Then, out of nowhere, he leaped into an unsuspecting and chuckling Ash's arms and gave him a huge bear hug. Ash started laughing joyfully and squeezed Pikachu in tight. He let go to allow his friend to dig into his little surprise present. The smiling Pikachu backed off, looking ever-so-grateful for having such a reliable and close friend.

And so as the duo walked away from the scene, people could only smile and go "awww" at the bond the two had just displayed.

However their smiles turned into laughs when they saw the raven-haired boy's exquisite present, because the team was walking down the street with Pikachu on his shoulder, relishing in the taste of a hot-sauce infused ketchup.

His favorite kind.

* * *

><p>Elesa stepped out into the bright yellow aura of the midmorning sun. She basked in the chilly warmth of the air with a light summer breeze. She adored this time of year. When most every other big town was struggling with heat because of pollution, her Nimbasa City was as pristine as can be. Even though she wasn't part of the city council, everyone attributed the town to her. The girl with lemon hair even did most of the town speeches. Everyone adored her.<p>

And with someone as kind and energetic as her, she was easily adored.

The good thing about her house is that it was in a small, gated-off area. This wasn't for an overly superfluous display of wealth, or to try and acquire extra lawn space. She just had heard about the problems of celebrities elsewhere; the main of which is getting pummeled by fans and reporters straight out of the house.

But these days her gate wasn't even locked. Her fans respected her space and privacy, and never even dared nor thought to approach her or her abode while she was out of town.

Elesa decided to leave all her precious at home. The Nimbasa Leader wanted some precious alone time to let her raging thoughts settle. Thoughts about life, thoughts about battling, thoughts about happiness, thoughts about…

_Thoughts about…_

Elesa didn't dare let that thought finish. She can't be putting her foot in uncharted waters so soon and get her hopes up.

So Elesa closed the door to the house, letting the automatic electronic security system lock itself.

She turned her head around and blew a kiss to the upper rafters of the house.

She shouted out, "Stay safe my sweethearts! I love you all bunches, and you know it!"

And even though she technically wasn't supposed to hear through the soundproof walls, she could have sworn she heard her Pokemon call back to her. So with a newly painted smile on her face, she set out to conquer the city.

* * *

><p>Elesa was wearing a cool blue athletic shirt with a green trim and a smooth blue lining. It had the words "STATE" pasted across the front in sharp red text, and the number "00" on the back in the same font. She was wearing short, pink running shorts with a light yellow stripe down the side. Her hair was brushed down to its original style, accompanied by the original headphones. She was wearing some tan flip-flops. She looked like the epitome of a surfer girl. It grossly contrasted her trademark supermodel outfit she wore on when at work. But she looked jaw-dropping all the same.<p>

And the guys were certainly taking notice, much to the digression of the girl in question herself.

All the same, Elesa couldn't help but just giggle and move along.

_Guys can be so weird._

She pulled out some real headphones and slipped them under her favorite accessory. She plugged in her PMP-5.5 (Portable Music Player ed. 5.5) Silver Edition and cranked up the tunes. She put on Days of Remark, an alternative rock band, and let the music flood her head. She smiled and sighed in pleasant joy as the remarkable quality of her PMP made her ears drool.

She started doing a mini-swag groove. She closed her eyes and pretended the enormous, monolithic skyscrapers around her and the wide open hustling streets and sidewalk in front of her didn't exist. She snapped her fingers and swayed her hips from side to side, bobbing her head to the beat of the music. Her arms bent like a V at her sides, they jerked from forward to back to the pleasant "bum da disss, ba-bum da disss. bum da disss, ba-bum da disss." the percussion section was making.

She continued this way, humming the lyrics she knew so well.

"Oh whyyy! OH why did you treat me so? Oh whyyy! OH why did you smitten me so? I'm sitting here like a duck-outta-water and I'm blushing like a sailor at the zoo! OHH I'm fighting here like a knight in large armor. Because you've captivated my hearrrrrt and there's nothing I can do!"

When the song stopped she opened her clean sky eyes and observed the world around her. It would be safe to say just about every young man in he city just stopped what they were doing to admire her.

She giggled and pulled out her headphones, and gracefully swept into the café she was stopping at. The extended wires of her accessory flowed beautifully behind her, slipping through the door suggestively to every guy in town. As soon as she disappeared behind the crystal wooden doors, every guy blinked, brushed their eyes awake, and returned to work.

Elesa was oblivious to how meaningful those lyrics she sung meant to her heart. And she was even more oblivious to how life-changing the café she just slipped into would become.

* * *

><p>"Waiter! E'scuse me waiter!" Ash called out.<p>

A young man, no older than 20, dressed in casual attire with a waiter's apron turned on his heels and approached Ash with a smile. "What can I do for you today, Sir….?"

"Ketchum, sir."

The man straightened out and smiled. "Yes, yes, Mr. Ketchum, what can I do for you today on this BEAUtiful morning? It sure is fantastic out isn't it!"

Ash and Pikachu laughed. "It certainly is! We even stopped by the park, and boy was it memorable!" Ash scratched the underside of Pikachu's chin.

Ash cleared his throat. "I would like a chilled Blue Passho Smoothie with today's special pastry on the side. My buddy…" he gestured to Pikachu, "would like a cup of Leppa, please."

The waiter scribbled it all down on a notepad. When he was done, he made an exaggerated jab of his pen to show it. "Excellent, excellent. Well, the order will be out in a sec, k? Just admire Nimbasa until we come back."

Ash smiled and nodded. "Alright man, I'll se ya then."

As the young server disappeared behind the "Employee's Only" door, Ash and Pikachu returned their gazes to each other.

Ash remarked, "Wow this is a brilliant little café isn't it buddy?"

Pikachu agreed, "Chaaaaa."

The place really was nice. The sanitation was remarkably high and the atmosphere felt light and clear. The windows looking outside were polished and shiny, and the wood encasing the whole place was a faded wormwood. The floor looked sandy and washed to the eye, but felt smooth to the touch. There were occasional, small, simple vases of cute flowers scattered everywhere. Combined with the seclusion of each booth one could sit in, the place emitted a perfect clean yet rustic atmosphere.

When Pikachu and Ash were done observing their surroundings, they returned their looks once again. Ash decided to talk about their walk earlier.

"Well after I found all the necessary supplies, it was a fabulous trip wasn't it?"

Pikachu snickered, "Pi-i-ika. Pika-pikachu."

Ash sweatdropped. "Yeah, yeah I know that took a while. Hey I got you your gift right?"

Pikachu's look became a dreamy and otherworldly one. Ash had to snap in his face to remind him they were in a personal conversation right now, and daydreaming about his previous excursion into the world of buffalo-flavored ketchup would have to wait. This time it was Pikachu's turn to sweatdrop.

So Ash and Pikachu carried on about how beautiful the park was. The forestry was brilliant. There were gorgeous evergreens and pretty deciduous trees. There were countless fields of flowers in full bloom, each thriving in its own power. The grass was a pristine green, and the water was completely pollution-less. It's not even like there was a random can floating in the water. Ash and Pikachu guessed it was probably just a citywide code of honor to keep if fresh and clean, seeing as how the whole town was essentially in a natural state of cleanliness.

Supposedly there was a rare Enigma Berry tree around the park somewhere. But people have searched for months and never found it. It had achieved myth status by the time Ash and Pikachu picked up on it. They even found a construction worker who said the sign advertising the legend would be taken down soon to avoid unnecessary lawsuits.

But nonetheless Pikachu and Ash searched for it in hopes of finding the coveted relic. They, of course, had no luck finding it, but all the same they loved the journey looking for it.

And the wild Pokemon there were superb as well. From Pidove to Sewaddle, and from Rufflet to Swanna the place was teeming with wildlife.

So Pikachu and Ash went on and on about their adventure. They were unaware of the group of 3 giggling girls just beside them in a separate booth.

They were scheming and gossiping about how to approach that handsome raven-haired boy over there who had beaten the Nimbasa Gym the day before.

Obsessed? Yes. Stalkers? Possibly. Shy? Absolutely not.

"Hehehe he is sooooo ca-YUTE!"

"What about his Pikachu? Isn't he just adorable!"

"I wonder if his hair smells as nice as his body looks…"

"Oh why aren't we the sluttly little whore over here?"

"Oh be quiet, bitch, you are just as seductive as me."

"Both of you! Shut it! Don't speak so loudly!"

"Girl we've talked louder this entire day and he hasn't even noticed us. Calm down."

"Let's get back on track now! What should we do?"

"Why don't we just do up to him and pop our chests at him? We've seen the boners guys get over these big, bad girls up here, why would he be any different?"

"That is so fucking whorish…it might actually work."

"Or how about we turn around and stick our ass at him? He'd love that!"

"Girls! We can't be that seductive! His Pikachu will do anything for him, and the minute we start doing that he wouldn't hesitate to zap us!"

"Hmmm you've got a point there. What should we do."

"Gotta think, gotta think…"

Suddenly a loud crash followed by metal clanging was heard in the background. It was fairly incomprehensible, and nothing could be made out of it.

"What was that?"

"No matter. It's probably just some kitchen accident. Stupid waiter probably saw my breasts here or something hehe."

"Shut it girl, you really shouldn't be talking like that. You're not even 16 yet, so don't start acting like a prostitute."

"Alright guys back on track now. Focus…"

"I've got it! Why don't we act seductive yet innocent? Like not be blatant about anything? If we do that his Pikachu will have too much of conscience to zap us! He'll be cornered! He'd have to go out with us!"

"UWWWWW I like the sound of this!"

"Alright then…no time like the present girls. Let's move."

And so an unfortunate Ash and oblivious Pikachu were sitting in the booth like sitting ducks, as a group of 3 hormone-led girls approached them like predators.

And their only saving grace was a beautiful young miss with an athletic outfit in a separate table next to the window, currently observing the speeding traffic of Nimbasa while she was wrapped up in her own mind and her own thoughts.

* * *

><p>Elesa pulled out the wooden bar chair and delicately took her seat at the table next to a window. It was an odd scenery of simple cars zooming back and forth across the open road, but Elesa loved it. It was a nice way to drown out extraneous noises when in the middle of her thoughts.<p>

She flagged down a waitress and told her she wanted her signature yet simple Passhocino. Decaf, extra sugar, skim milk, with a slight touch of cinnamon. This café did it best, and she recommended it to everyone. This in its own way sparked the successful drive of this business who put all their marketing into claiming it was "Elesa's Favorite Place to Grab a Cup." And Elesa didn't mind it, because it was 100% the truth.

So she decided to crack down and get to her thoughts. She was absorbed in it all and her gaze looked swallowed up by it. Any witness would easily be able to claim spectating her was like spectating a masterpiece of a statue. Simple and unmoving, yet it has a gaze that would captivate someone for ages as you try and decipher what it was saying.

_So Elesa…how's life? No, no that's not what I need to think about I have an awesome life. Let me start over—So Elesa…how's the gym? Still not quite right. How's your personal life? N…well actually…err…umm…_

Elesa was struggling figuring out what was bugging her. She couldn't make two sense out of it. So after a few tenuous minutes of searching her brain for the answer, she gave up. Sighing, she leaned back and admired the beautiful café.

She mumbled, "Ya know, for a place that has gotten so popular, it hasn't lost any of its integrity I know it to have when I first came."

Right after she said that her waitress popped out of the door and slid through with a cup of hot Passhocino in her hands. The delicate white steam evaporating off of the surface was curious to look at. So as her waitress approached, the girl with lemon hair observed it dissolving into the atmosphere.

"Here you are Elesa. Anything else besides your regular?"

Elesa smiled and shook her head. "No thanks that will be all. Here, here's the money.." Elesa dug through her pocket and pulled out the sufficient Poké. "…and here is a little something for you." She winked at her waitress and returned to her thoughts.

Elesa didn't see the server's reaction, but she could feel the gratitude rushing off of her. So she smiled and closed her eyes, knowing she had made someone happy.

_See? You are a likable and kind person. You're life is perfect! So what is bugging you? Maybe something isn't perfect?_

She was back to this struggle.

_Well since its clear trying to find out what's wrong will last me here all year, let me find the source. Killing a weed starts at its roots, after all._

So Elesa scanned her brain for when it all started. She was still having little success when suddenly…

~CRASHHHHH…CRASHH…CRASH. CRASH, CLANG, CLANGCLANGCLangclangclanggg…~

Distracted and probably curious, she pulled her head around to see what had happened. Low and behold, a young, probably new, waiter has just dropped a metal pan for where a customer's food is placed. There was nothing on it thankfully, but it was still obnoxiously loud.

Elesa felt bad for him. Being a new guy is always tough. She should know better than anyone else, especially with the journey she had to becoming gym leader…

_Wait gym leader…that's it! It started after yesterday's gym battle with Ash!_

…

…

…

_Ash…_

Elesa's mind drifted into thoughts of the courageous boy standing up for his friend Bianca, risking everything for her. Of the brilliant battler who couldn't be touched when combined with Pikachu. Of the compassionate friend who had a bond with his Pokemon greater than any other she had ever seen. She could just hear him calling out to her. Well, not to her. But calling out in general.

It was almost as if it was…real.

Then Elesa had a chill run down her spine and spread through her fingertips. She craned her neck to the right, slowly twisting it like a rusty gear. What she saw made her want to scream.

Ash was being cornered by 3 very attractive young teenagers, and his eyes were telling the whole story.

He needed help.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah. Cliffhanger. FTW.<strong>

**R&R**


	5. Lemongrass

**AHHHHH sorry guys. I promised I'd be back and -WHABAM- I get backslapped by a thousand summer things. I sincerely apologize.**

**I will be working on a oneshot for a contest throughout the week, and plan on uploading at least 2 more chapters to this.**

**So until then, please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"Heyyy there sexy."<p>

…

-coughcough- "I said…heyyyyy there sexyyyy."

…

"HEY KID, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Ash leaped out of his chair, startled by the sudden and rather unexpected interruption to his nice Jabocacinno. He was a little irked by this, so as he swiveled around, he responded,

"Now there MISS, just because I'm only 12 doesn't mean you get to go around…"

But then he saw who had interrupted him.

"Derr, duhawoahwa duppp…..hyurnds?"

The threesome pair of sluts (now a narrator gets his opinion too right?) were closing in fast on him. And even though Ash pretended to be dense about the feminine species, when girls put their hands…up there and had previously unbuttoned…down there, it usually meant something he didn't want to get involved with.

No matter how attractive the girls were.

And even though these in front of him were dead-near smoking, he had to find an escape, and he needed it NOW.

So, as he started making a move out of his chair, he nonchalantly mentioned, "Hey, I'd love to stay and…"

But the girls were too smart to fall for that.

In unison, they spoke slurrily, "Ohhhh no you don't honey." And they pushed him back down.

Now Pikachu saw this as his cue. Glaring at the girls, sparks flying from his red pouches, he threatened,

"Piiiii..."

But the girls had already planned out how to respond to this.

"Hey there you cute little bundle of yellow fur! Aren't you just the strongest thing!"

"Yeah…you must get all the Pika-babes."

"Woah there girl, don't get too ahead of yourself."

"I can't help it! This thing could probably zap us to the moon if we provoked him for some odd reason!"

"HA. Now who would do that?"

Ash was a bit puzzled. Here were three girls who clearly needed more cloth in their wardrobe, acting like innocent schoolgirls.

Pikachu noticed this change, and stood frozen, not sure if to blush to the comments or to be wary of flattery. So he just kinda cocked his head to the side and twitched his ear.

"Now where were we…oh yeah! Hey there sexy" the girl said. She was the one with a silk hot-pink top that cut off just below the…yeah the THOSE…with a V-neck that cut down farther into the shirt than there was actual shirt.

The other one had an alright shirt on. But she was wearing denim shorts that seemed to fit a bit too snugly over her…yeah.

The last had a mix of both, and was the one closest to Ash. She also seemed to be the one most likely to undress right then and there.

So you can imagine how incredibly uncomfortable Ash was.

"Now don't worry, we saw you make that scene on the subway, and couldn't help but think how incredibly sexy you were."

"Hehe I bet you think we're sexy too. Don't you?"

Ash had a few tricks up his sleeve to avoid falling for the temptation they were throwing at him. Closing his eyes repeatedly while thinking about being shocked by Pikachu, imagining them looking like old witches, thinking about a really P-O'ed Ursaring, closing his eyes and imagining himself in a giant Alaskan Parka that gave him no mobility (try it, you forget about everything that's happening right in front of you)…

But he was coming to his wit's end. His well of tricks was drying up fast and it was drying up hard.

One last ditch effort.

Create a scene.

Now the place was deserted completely. Much to be expected of a lazy Tuesday midmorning sun…everyone was probably at work or enjoying the sun of the day. Something told him that the staff behind the doors wouldn't hear him if he shouted. They typically only came out when the place was busy, or when a mini-buzzer hidden somewhere around the front door got tripped and notified them in the back. The only breathing object was a singular girl…her legs' skin was gorgeous and smooth as evident by the small parts of it visible under the table…who was stagnant and wrapped up in her booth like the aftermath of tar coagulate.

But he had to try.

"HELP!"

…

…

…

…

What happened next was so utterly incredible that processing it was near impossible for Ash. The world started revolving around like a tape at 1 frame(s) per second, pausing randomly at unpredictable intervals.

But first, the planet froze. Even the wind slowly grinded to a halt. The girls had their menacing, spookily wide grins and were way too close for comfort for Ash. Pikachu was in the middle of slowly backing up, staring with wide, frightened eyes at the girls, the blacks of his eyes dilated and sparkling with fear. The table was being jerked around in such a way that Pikachu's Leppa was sloshing over. The bright, scarlet drops were frozen in the air, slowly separating from each other as they expanded into the air. A napkin was in the middle of fluttering off the table

But all Ash was noticing was distant from the scene.

The girl from the booth was raising her head over the smooth wooden barrier that separated her from the amber-eyed trainer in an angelic and slow way. And as she did, the light from the window threw itself at her mercy, shining brightly on the side of her closest to the window. Most of her was in a silhouette, but the edges of her face were over-exposed and brightly contrasted to the dark silhouette of the rest of her. But most of all her eyes…her eyes shone through even the darkness of a morning silhouette.

And that was all Ash needed to recognize her.

The bright, peachy skin that met the apple of every women's eye…the shining, unorthodox haircut that mysteriously worked out somehow…the glistering, perfect shade of ripe, summer lemon that her hair had…the bright, powerful, compassionate eyes that made your heart flutter…

This was obviously the beautiful model herself, Elesa.

But there was something wrong. Her eyes had something unusual about them. Was it anger? Was it power? Sadness? Apathy? Passion?

Fear.

The bright blues of her eyes seemed to be fused with a dark gray of fear. And as she turned her head to the right, away from the window, towards Ash, those fear-infused eyes connected with Ash's fear-infused amber ones. And in that moment that lasted hours, the two had an understanding. Ash needed help. Elesa was there to help.

Ash needed Elesa. Now.

And Elesa understood.

And as she rose out of her seat and swung around on her feet, she started sprinting towards Ash. The way her hair flew around despite its short characteristics seemed intriguing and awe-inspiring. Time finally woke up from its long slumber, and slowly but surely, everything caught up to speed. The world started spinning again, the wind eventually found out how to blow again, and the girls approach on the table started occurring again.

But Elesa beat them to it. And boy was she angry. Ash couldn't figure out why, and he would go on to ponder this fact for the next few hours. He understood if she was upset about someone being picked on, but this level of fury? Why was he so special?…

…

He didn't know.

But all the same Elesa was infuriated. She lunged in-between the girls and Ash, heaving them backwards. For someone caught up in modeling and battling, she had some intense strength. She menacingly encroached upon the startled trio.

"AH-HEMM! Just WHAT were you thinking of doing?"

The girl's face was lit up like it was on fire, as if to intimidate its enemies.

And the threesome seemed to be responding favorably to it. Well, favorably to Elesa. Anyone who had so much as thought about setting foot in Nimbasa City knew about the cheery, happy, loving Elesa. This alter ego however was unknown and clearly unpublicized. Much to the chagrin of the trio, they couldn't find a way to respond to this unexpected twist of events.

"Err…duhhh...berrr…Elesa?"

"Uhhhhh…hi."

"What the heck is she doing?"

The three were confused and flabbergasted by this intrusion upon their alleged "greeting of a random boy."

Elesa just glared at them, the silky blue eyes contrasted by the flames spread around the irises.

Between her teeth came a slippery and rather harsh tone. "May I ask you three again…perhaps I wasn't clear. . ?"

.

.

.

All three girls blushed and sweatdropped at the thickened air of silence. However futile it was, they still tried to jump out of this pitfall they fell into.

"Hi Elesa! How are you-"

The gym leader would have none of it. "Can it sister. It'd be a good idea for you to just see yourself out that nice door over there."

And with that, the three took their cue and booked their way out of the café.

Heaving and fuming, Elesa turned on the heels of her feet to look at a confused and, not necessarily spooked, but rather amused, Ash.

He was the first to break the tension.

"Well it's a good thing that side of you didn't come out in our battle."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah not much to say here. R&amp;R por favor.<strong>


	6. A Perfect Moment

A moment.

Such a delicate word.

It theoretically could be anything from the analytical limit of negative infinity to the increasingly long computable exponential functions that supercomputers are left to labor with. It scientifically was anything from the most accurate measurement of a picosecond to the large grander of time since the big bang. It rhetorically was something that could be as short as a pensive flash of light and electricity, like an input of a circuit to the output of a light, to something as large and expansive as the universe.

But that's all jargon to most people.

In experience, a moment could be so cold and short that it comes and goes without a care or notice from the hustle and bustle of the more practical people in the world. Yet at the same time it could be so long and heavy that the air turns to nothing as the weight of a thousand suns holds down the two entities that stare across at one another in a cosmic battle of relief, realization, and awkwardness.

So in this case, let's not worry about defining a moment, and just call it: a moment.

This very moment passed between Elesa and Ash.

A look at the door swinging back and forth metronomically from the dust stirred up by the previous creatures running out the door.

A look back at each other.

A look at the door.

A moment.

This is what happens after the rescue and before the dimuendo. The part no one talks about. The very part that is most crucial in development in any story.

So silence comes as persistence goes. Ash was the first to break it.

"Well it's a good thing that side of you didn't come out in our battle."

And at this point Elesa couldn't help but giggle.

As a lazy morning passes in a relaxing café, their servers come from behind (apparently soundproof) doors and lay a simple cup of Passhocino in front of Ash. Pikachu joined in on the newfound light and jovial attitude passed along with the steaming dessert drink in front of his trainer. He picks up his tipped cup of Leppa, and spins it around to down whatever was left of his cup of joy.

Ash then gives the Look of Joy, and leans back and relaxes.

Like nothing ever happened.

So with graceful elegance, Elesa sweeps across the polished floor and gathers up her goods, returning back to join in on Ash's day right next to him.

So with a well-timed delayed reply, she kindly speaks, "Yes, I guess it is."

* * *

><p>The dingling of a little silver bell ringing behind the trainer and leader was such a beautiful thing.<p>

Ash spoke to it, "Such an old-fashioned thing in such a high-tech city. Makes the already perfect city even more…well perfect."

"Piika!" Pikachu agreed.

Elesa giggled at his unaware compliment. _Thanks for that Ash._

Ash continued onto a tangential topic, "I can't believe how good a solid Frappuccino can be."

Elesa smiled and looked on, putting her hands behind her back in a soft and lady-like way, elbows akimbo.

"I KNOW right?" she followed.

"It's actually funny…I used to hate the idea of them," Ash chuckled.

Elesa raised her eyebrow, smile unwavering. "Really? And why is that?"

"I used to think they were made out of coffee."

The girl with lemon hair got a kick out of that.

"You're kidding! What would make you think that?"

"Well…since they were always in coffee shops I just assumed…"

This was too good for Elesa.

"And you never stopped to wonder how pink and orange coffee was invented?"

Ash was wimpering. "Well with all the artificial stuff these days…"

"Answer this: If they advertised artificial coffee would that be a benefit or detriment to their business?"

"Errr…well I just don't like coffee and I thought…"

"Huh. For someone who's such a genius against Nimbasa's best, you sure don't use that head much do ya?" Elsea teased.

"But…but…OKAY maybe I'm stupid!" Ash squinted his eyes and let the words slip out like they were made of acid.

Elesa threw here head back and laughed. Ash and Pikachu joined in soon took light of the situation.

"But this guy..." he stroked the underside of his buddy's chin, who was carefully perched on his shoulder, "THIS guy has always loved anything made out of Chilan or Leppa. It's a tough life having to live with a Pokemon who loves your worst drink."

Elesa laughed. "Yeah. It must suck to be you."

Ash joined in on the laugh. He continued to stroke Pikachu's chin, and moved to his ears. Pikachu just had a nice and warm "Chaaaa!" to respond to that.

A boy with a milkman's hat passed them on his Acro, smile planted on his face. His eyes contacted the two walking on the sidewalk, and waved to them. They waved back.

To their left across the street a vendor was selling fruits. He caught their eyes too. He waved them over hastily. Ash and Elesa smiled and shrugged.

"Why not?" They seemed to say in unison.

They walked over.

He boomed with a warm and loud accent: "Fresh Seetriss Berries for de leedur and shampyun of Neembahsah?"

Ash blinked a couple of times while Elesa laughed and responded, "Oh no need to treat us any different. Just give ours to whoever wants them." She turned around and winked at the moms and children standing in line, bright smiles of life everywhere.

The portly vendor laughed and winked. "Aye. I should half known! Well, gued day tuh yuh twosies!"

Again Ash was confused and scratched his head. "Uh…"

Elesa sighed to herself. _Must I do everything?_

"Thanks Mister! Have a good day as well." She beamed and grabbed Ash by the hand and led him away like they were going to tackle a Salsa routine.

The city was spacious and large, and even though it had it's fair share of large edifices and larger-than-life complexes, there was always room for road, sidewalk, and flora wherever possible. Perhaps a statue or painting here and there. Maybe a directory. But somehow no matter where you were in the city you never felt cramped, while at the same time having the feeling that you could never conquer the entire city no matter how hard you tried that urban areas gave you.

But Ash and Elesa had strolled into the park of Nimbasa. They were on the wing where all the hustle and bustle was, with all the vendors and street performers. A breakdancer over there. A juggler right here. A guitarist with a stack of albums right next to her strumming a happy tune about moving on with life. Based on the tip hat right in front of her, she seemed to be attracting a lot of attention. Ash even bought her single, using his natural charm to shmoo the performer into blushing.

_He sure is good at looking good. Maybe he doesn't need to act for it._ Elesa thought with a bright smile.

The girl with lemon hair's unique hairstyle was especially flattering in the bright sun, even more so around all the people. Her height was helping her considerably, making her an easy target to spot out of everyone in the crowd. Even without her heels, she looked so mature.

And even Ash at this moment, looked years beyond his age.

He cocked his head toward Elesa and asked, "How did you understand that guy?"

Elesa smiled. "Nimbasa is such a welcoming place. It has become so cosmopolitan that the gym leader should be expected to understand a variety of accents."

"Yeah but…are you sure that guy was speaking an actual language?" Ash actually sounded serious.

They both laughed.

* * *

><p>The road they were following curved into a smooth and decorated cobblestone driveway. It cut through a gate that functioned more of an aesthetic device than an actual protective barrier. There were cleanly cut shrubs and daftly planted flowers littered around a perfectly paved pool of water. A simple bridge swept over the water. Inside were multiple species of fish Pokemon, flying in the water without a care in the world.<p>

Here Ash had forgotten he was walking. "This is just…wow. This is just wow."

Elesa smiled and let her aura of thanks be her response.

The city designer pulled out a remote of some device and opened her door. It led into the house, so contemporary in its mechanics yet so rustic in its look.

Ash remarked, "Feels like I just walked into a future version of a log cabin."

Elesa smiled. "Thanks for coming home with me Ash."

"Are you kidding me? It's my honor! Considering how incredible you are at everything you do? AND how you just saved my butt!? I owe ya one."

Elesa blushed at those words. But Ash didn't take notice. He was too busy being Ash. Ya know, gawking at any edifice that wasn't made of mud, and being the most incredibly dense thing every to exist on the planet.

Elesa shook her head out of it and switched gears into a pleasant speech.

"Hey Ash, watch this."

Sparkling ocean eyes already painted on the girl seemingly glowed a neon cyan, as if a star was illuminating inside them, as the tall supermodel pulled out her graceful hand. She curled it into a funky shape and brought it to her face.

What came next was a whistle so beautiful it seemed to capture the attention of the flowers sitting next to her.

At first nothing happened.

Then a stampede came down the steps.

A second later Elesa was buried by her precious. All of them.

What followed was simply a fit of laughter and squeals and giggles. As the owner of the Pokemon was currently being greeted home with a large dogpile of every single one of the creatures in question. She was stuck in the bottom laughing hysterically, unable to contain the happiness and joy.

Eventually Elesa's Pokemon let go. It executed in such a well-coordinated manner it appeared like a daily ritual as they backed off and smiled down at the crumpled leader on the ground.

Ash wasn't too aware of that. "ELESA! Are you okay?"

"…huff…huff….hehe…"

"ELESA?!"

"…hehehehe-COUGHCOUGH-hehe-….hehe…"

Ash could just stare with his jaw agape as Elesa lay on the floor, giggling, coughing, sputtering, recovering.

The boy and his Pikachu were starting to get worried when Elesa suddenly leaped up gracefully and did a twirl. When she was done she gazed over her shoulder and winked at Ash. Stunned, Ketchum just stood anchored to the floor like it was made of gum. Elesa giggled and walked forward.

"You comin'?"

"Derrr…uhhhh…yeah?" Ash finally decided.

The girl in lemon hair just chuckled and shook her head, the Pokemon following suit.

"You'll get used to it Ash." And she left it that. She started heading to the living room.

Then a sudden realization hit Elesa as she rounded the corner.

_If he has the chance to do that._

* * *

><p>People say time flies when you're having fun.<p>

Liers.

_It freaking timewarps to the next year…_ Elesa thought aggravatingly.

She was busy fixing up fresh Iapapa coated bread. It was sort of her thing. The sweet and sour pulpiness of the berry somehow juiced up the bread and made it elegantly delectable.

The best part was that Emo hated it, so she never had to worry about her complaining.

Talking with Ash proved to be more and more entertaining every time he opened his mouth. The way he talks just swallows you up and never gives your brain a chance to let go. Mostly because he had stories with substories and substories to those substories and sub_topics_ to those substories with different takes and points and ideas to each subpoint to the subtopics that correlating to different substories and connected to other subpoints and related back to the one main substory which was part of a grander scheme of one main story. Each one lasted at absolute bare minimum an hour.

Subtopics that is.

So basically if he started talking now, he couldn't finish before the end of the year, even if he flew by and skipped the boring parts.

"…so yeah. It really was a blast."

…

"Oh and I guess I kinda had to walk with every toe broken for another month or so. But that's the boring part."

…Yeah. His boring parts.

…

…

…"Ummmm…Elesa?"

She looked up, her eyes shimmering. "Hmmm?"

Ash leaned back in the pure shiny Swanna (apparently shiny was softer) down couch. He crossed his arms and pouted. "It was boring wasn't it? I knew that was a stupid story. Maybe I shouldn't be here, I'm just wasting your time…humpf…"

Electricity surged up through Elesa's back. She closed her eyes and shouted "WHAT? NONONO!"

_Not losing him! I just now got him here Not losing him! I won't Not losing him! I Not losing him!_

She peeked open to see Ash confused and raising an eyebrow at her.

Cue the blushing. At least Elesa knew how to hide it. According to Rule XVI Letter XLI of the NMA (National Model's Association) guide, a great model needs to look as chilled and blushless as possible.

Elesa's mouth filled back up with fluid and she took a breath. Giggling, she meekly mentioned, "Sorry Ash, it's just that it was a very entertaining story. Please, stay as long as you want."

Realizing what she had said, it felt wrong in her mouth. Her jaws uncontrollably yet discreetly moved up and down ever so slightly to hide the lack of voice filling in the void of self-achieved awkwardness.

_Well that makes it sound like I'm only letting him stay for the story._

Ash just smiled and sat up. "Oh good that's a relief. This reminds me of a time when this one trainer…"

Elesa just smiled and continued to juice the berries.

* * *

><p>A warm afternoon sun leaked across the sky and tickled the world with heat. It signified a dimuendo, a time of peace and quiet as Pokemon hustled to their dens for protection, as people started coming home from work, as trainers started setting up shop for the night on the road.<p>

The time when Ash had to leave Elesa's.

_Ash you really should stay! I have a nice HD TV, a beautiful garden, a cool fun room, a nice Jacuzzi…_ Elesa wanted to say this.

And she probably would have asked his permission to invite him to stay at her house if she didn't blush at the thought of the Jacuzzi.

But regardless all she let out was a graceful, "Ash, thanks for stopping by." The irises of her eyes twinkled like little speckles of a polished floor. Eyes do tell a hidden story, you know.

It's funny. She had the most gorgeous house in the most gorgeous city and all Ash experienced in those seven or eight hours (or about 10 minutes as Elesa felt) was the entrance, dining room, and the smaller living room (admittedly, Elesa did have multiple living rooms).

Ash shook his head to ruffle his wildly neat hair smooth out to its normal organized chaos before he slipped his hat back on. He looked back and smiled, exhorting his experience in one word.

"Fabulous."

And with that he winked at her and set out for the Pokemon Center.

Elesa giggled and waved goodbye.

Her memories of today flooded her mind. It felt like the greatest day in a long time.

Elesa's hair turned a strawberry blonde under the setting sun, and it looked gorgeous. It gave a sight of a welcoming teenage girl mature beyond her years.

Then that wretched bridge caught her eye.

…

It was being tested for functionality.

…

The contemporary bright halves of the modernized bridge were moving peacefully and fluidly to one another in the distance

…

And it worked. Flawlessly. Elesa made the bridge specifically to be simple to fix and consistent to work.

…

Her own ingenious was biting her in the neck here.

…

Biting her in the neck…

…

Something was actually biting her in the neck.

"OW!" Elesa shrieked in surprise and swatted away the perpetrator.

A whimper came out from behind her, and she craned her neck to see what it came from.

A small and adorable Pokemon with black and white, lightning-shaped stripes running across it's body was attacking Elesa with the most lethal Lillipup eyes ever. It was her own little Blitzle nipping at her neck. It must be time for its bath.

The Blitzle itself couldn't hurt a flower if it tried.

And oh boy did it try sometimes. The flowers in Elesa's upstairs garden were still too much to handle for the newborn.

Sighing, she smiled and rubbed his head.

"Alright girl let's get goin."

The 3 month-old always brought her mood up.

After all, it went through a lot to end up where it is now.

And right now, Elesa needed all the motivational determination she could get.


	7. So Journey

**After long decision, I will post this here since many of you may not read the ****afternotes. So here goes.**

**This fic has been my greatest success. I never imagined it would bring me this much attention...and I kinda like it. But the deal is that this has always been intended for a short story, not a long novel. I intend to keep it as such, considering I cannot stretch the plot longer than what I planned without losing it's luster.**

**But this doesn't mean I do not update any longer. Quite the opposite. As some (very few) of you know, based on my profile updates, I have a new fic that I am so excited for. It will not just be a fic, it will be a straight up story. It will be epic, heartwrenching, and everything you love about great stores and fics put together. How do I know this? My drive is such, and I wish to achieve it.**

**If you are one of the many people who found this fic and liked it, it is probably because you liked my style of writing, not really because you support Raimei. Although some of you, even to an extent, most of you don't _really_ support it the way I do. SO since you like my style of writing, I'd be willing to bet you'd love my new story just as much.  
><strong>

**It is based off the manga, so some parts may go over your heads. But I assure you, just a few wiki minutes, and you're good to go, if you even need it. The manga is the best thing ever to come to Pokemon, hands down. It's not based for kids like the anime, and it's not incredibly general like the games. It is quite literally my favorite piece of entertainment.**

**So if you want more of my updating, pay attention to that story. Never Say Die. Every 2 chapters of that, I give you one chapter of this. That story plans to be super long, this one is already at least halfway through.**

**But enough advertising. On with the show.**

* * *

><p>A ray of light beamed its way into the comfy little room. It spread its warmth like butter across the minute area it could peek through, what with the curtains and all. It shone onto the body of a beloved little mouse, causing him to stir and slowly stretch his way out of sleep. He usually woke up when Ash started stirring 'round sundawn or so.<p>

That's his best way of describing it. Sundawn. That time a little after the gray hum of dawn where the sun is just oh-so sneaking some light into the sky. That time when you can't see the sun, but notice it leaking its precious rays into the atmosphere, ready to be absorbed and scattered into scattered visible light rays.

But today Ash didn't get up before then. He was peacefully asleep—or dead…could well have been dead. Pikachu really hoped he wasn't dead—in a very…well the best word to describe his posture was loving. It looked like he was curled up with someone, his lips ecked into a smile. It was so heartwarming. So serene.

So worrisome.

_Why hasn't he woken up yet? I just don't get it. _

He looked around to see if anyone else had been pushed awake by the glow of the sun.

Nope. Not one person. Everyone was soundlessly asleep.

So Pikachu thought, heck why not.

_I'll go outside and check out some stuff._

* * *

><p>Luckily for Pikachu, Ash slipped in last night so exhausted he left the patio door open. So the little mouse just hopped and skipped his way outside with the stealth of a samurai. He pounced around nearby rooftops as he scanned the great and lustrous world of Nimbasa.<p>

It felt like a utopia. It was peaceful yet bursting with jovial happiness. There was not too much perfect that life seemed drab and monotonous, not too much urbanization that it felt gross and smoggy.

Pikachu had visited what felt like every city in the world with Ash, and this place was by and far the best.

It was early and bright and the warmth of the sun filled Pikachu's pouches with illustrious energy. He felt like he could sweep an entire gym leader if he was challenged right here and now.

_Speaking of gym leader…_

The electric mouse scanned around for what looked like Elesa's house. The house itself was humble enough that it could viably be blocked by the larger edifices of main-city Nimbasa. But there had to be something that made it stand out. Something that made her place unique…

…

_!_

_That's it!_

_!_

_The clearing! Elesa's house rests in a clearing to maintain a beautiful and natural lawn!_

Pikachu couldn't see anything from his vantage point, but with just a little climbing and some tail grease…

_There! There it is!_

There was a gap in the buildings on the horizon that looked incredibly promising. It appealed nothing but the kind of clearing that Pikachu was looking for.

Before he jolted off towards it, he took a look back at the Pokemon Center not too far behind him…

…

He thought about his situation for a moment…

…

_Ash… He'll worry if I leave for too long._

So Pikachu scurried on back and sneaked back in, checking if that beam of light had woken any random people.

Thankfully, it hadn't.

Now came the task of letting Ash know he was a-okay…something that said where he was…

He sifted through a few things, brushing around a little…

_Ahhh. That's it._

He scurried through Ash's jacket on the floor, trying not to rustle it too much. inside the pocket was…

Yup. Exactly where he left it.

_His badge case._

He pulled out the Bolt Badge. It made a little clink when he popped it out, so he flinched, thinking it would wake someone up.

…

-_Cggawwww—shphuwwwwww-_

…

_Well that was exceptionally throaty._

Pikachu breathed an internal sigh of relief. Just Cilan making that occasional snore he has when he's sleeping pretty intensely.

Ash's partner put the badge right where he normally sleeps at the foot of Ash's bed. Hopefully he will get the message.

He slipped out the window. After a little ways out to where he was certain no one could hear him from the Center, he set off in a dash, letting his curiosity lead him to Elesa.

* * *

><p>By the time Pikachu reached what was obviously Elesa's house, the sun had grown to a healthy yellow glow in the sky. He was almost certain that Ash was awake by now. He hoped deeply that Ash got the message and didn't, like, kick the badge off or something.<p>

One thing the mouse didn't want was to cause unnecessary grief to his best friend. They had been through so much together, through so many problems and threatening turmoil, that any energy wasted towards pointless and trite misunderstandings should be avoided at all costs.

That, and a search party was stressful.

Mostly the whole no-grief thing.

But also mostly the stressful.

There was a nice beautiful tree growing in the front that had a branch that slipped close and personal to a balcony. Pikachu climbed up the aromatic bark and leaped onto the balcony fence. Something told him he was trespassing, and the thought had just now occurred to him that he might ruin his master's friendship with Elesa. He didn't want any of that.

He pondered on that thought, but not for long. With absolutely no warning, he heard a sudden

_-CSHSREAKCH-_

shattering sound came from the room right in front of him.

Pikachu lifted a paw to step forward, maybe see what was going on. Someone may be in trouble. He might nee—

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT! HOP OFF THIS PLANET WITH YOUR ARCEUS-FORSAKEN WRETCHED, STINKING, BLUE, ANNOYING, LOUD PIECE OF…"

You get the point.

_Surely that isn't…_

…

The mouse slipped forward and brushed aside the curtains a little to see what exactly was possibly going on to warrant such an…odd turn of events.

_It really can't. She doesn't seem like…no she would nev-… Would she? I mean, it's not li-…_

…

He got a solid look at the disheveled, messy, just-outta-bed girl who seemed so giddy over something. She was spitting at it and dancing around it and pointing and laughing at it and…wait is that a broken clock?

Pikachu did a double take to make sure.

The flash of lemon hair confirmed his hunch.

He sighed.

_Yup. It is her._

After her little rant on the clock was done, the girl with lemon hair huffed, brushed herself off, and zoomed back into reality. She still held her uncontrollably contagious smile, and twirled on one foot 180 degrees. She then skipped merrily into the shadows, humming a familiar tune. This stunned Pikachu a little bit. Not the crazy, deranged mutilation of a…Ducklett?...clock, not the athletic and impressive moves she just executed, and not even the peculiarly unorthodox switch of gears to happy girl trumming along. Thing is, she seemed happy. Not fake happy, not cartoon happy.

Legitimately, and undeniably happy.

_Well then, g'mornin' Elesa._

* * *

><p>…<p>

_Sometimes I wonder how for the love of Jaboca I end up in these situations._

Well it just now occurred to Pikachu that he was 20 minutes away from Ash at a recently-friended person's house without proper warning or explanation, without a clue has to what the Klink he wants to do.

Curiosity. It'll basically bring Armageddon to the world. Or something like that.

_But while I'm here, I might as well…I dunno…do…somethin'? Like what? Just waltz right up to her door?_

…

A few moments later he was standing at her front door.

He was before a very familiar Zebstrika. Apparently Elesa either doesn't get visitors too often at this hour (doubtful based on the overfilled mailbox out front which was empty yester-noon…and the mailman hasn't even come by yet), or she just has her Pokemon answer the door while she gets ready for the day.

Either way, not exactly your typical doorman.

_Hmm well howday!_

_Hehe Hi to you too._

_What breengs yah by 'round dis early houra? And where's dat traina with da cap?_

_Honestly I don't know myself…to the hour question. As for Ash, he's still back at the Center._

_Hmm, well your welcome hyere anytime!_

_Appreciate it, Zebstrika._

_Call meh Zeb. Das what everyone 'round dese pahts does when it ain't official or nuttin'._

_Okay, will do Zeb._

So Pikachu waddled by Zeb into the familiar front entrance.

…_errr, do you know where Elesa is?  
><em>

_Ah dat purrdy gal? Mah traina? She's a-gettin' ready fo' the day. Aldough, she could just stroll into town straight outta bed and she'd still be gawked at._

Zeb led Pikachu to the slick, contemporary yet classy kitchen where, at least, some of Elesa's Pokemon were chilling and having a nice morning chat while eating breakfast. Everyone was laughing and smiling and just in an overall jovial mood.

It seemed to utopian to be real. But it was.

After not too long, they all noticed Pikachu and Zeb. They grinned and beckoned them over.

_Hey so it was you at the door!_

_Welcome to Elesa's residence!_

_How are you doing?  
><em>

_You got any cheese?_

_Emolga, why would a random Pikachu have cheese?_

_He's not random, Joltik, he's _THAT BOY'S _Pikachu._

_Well, I know that, I was just…whatever._

Pikachu just sweatdropped. It was clear that these Pokemon were super friendly.

Well as they say, like trainer, like Pokemon.

After Pikachu returned the greeting and confirmed, no, he did NOT have any cheese, he sat down with them all. They offered some food, but the electric mouse refused. He wasn't even invited in by the proper owner of the household, he shouldn't be any more of a nuisance than he already was.

But in the middle of all the ruckus, he couldn't help but notice a familiar but dim tune being hummed from somewhere. His ears perked and twitched, trying to locate the source, and his tail jerked a little. Tynamo seemed to notice, since he learned the hard way how alert Pikachu could be to his surroundings.

_Hey Pikachu? Whacha listening for? _

_I dunno, I hear some sort of…tune._

After a moment for it to click, every one of Elesa's beloved laughed.

_Oh yeah, forgot he doesn't exactly know Elesa's morning routine. Speaking of which she should be done shortly._

_Hehe I almost forgot about it._

Pikachu was a little confused.

_Wait, routine? Done shortly? Huh?_

Tynamo snickered out the next explanation.

_Elesa is directly through that…_

…he pointed to a conspicuous but pretty closed door, leading from the kitchen area across the way…

…_door right there. She's always in a happy mood, and likes to hum songs while she cleans up for the day._

_Oh, thanks._

Pikachu was still a bit nervous about what would happen when Elesa saw him. He knows that she liked him, but he was sort of barging in uninvited. And heck, Pikachu probably doesn't have much more of a clue about why and how he was here than she would.

But, not enough time to ponder.

Out of the door steped (or rather, twirled) a beautiful girl named Elesa. She looked no different than the lost couple-a-three times Pikachu saw her. But not a sparkle of gorgeous has left from her.

And most certainly, not a blip of upbeat energy.

Pikachu half-cowered in fear of not wanting to be seen intruding, half-stick-his-chest-out just to get this thing over with.

He really doesn't have time for either.

As soon as the girl with lemon hair sees him, she stops her pirouette-like movement and stares at him, her smile dropping to a slightly ajar mouth. She blinks once.

_Oh no…_

Pikachu is sure that she will be mad.

But…

…

No.

What he captures from her face is not an aura, a look, of anger. Rather, quite the opposite. She looks…

Overjoyed. As if she couldn't be any happier than what she was before.

Elesa leaped (literally) over to the electric mouse and smothers him in a perfect Beartic hug. Not one where you get squished, not one where it feels awkwardly light. More like one you give your loved one after just arriving back from a 10-year long journey.

Pikachu was just shocked. He was sure she would be mad.

But she seemed like he just made her day. Simply by being present.

After snuggling him a little, she stood up and perched him on her shoulder. Giggling, she started stroking his chin, to which she got a peachy and content "Chaaaa."

"Oh you. Where's Ash? Ah, nevermind, that goofball probably overslept didn't he? Well, you are welcome here, anytime you want."

Elesa smiled and put him down.

"Now I have some errands to run. Care to join? I'm sure we'll find Ash somewhere in the urban jungle of Nimbasa."

Pikachu gave a vicious nod, signifying his approval. Well it looks like he gets to do something anyway.

The girl with sparkling eyes gave the Nurse Joy look to Pikachu, and then beckoned him over to the door.

With a sing-songy tone, she mused, "Then come, we have things to do."

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter is chock-full of puns. And is felt a bit awkward at parts for me too...sowwee.<strong>

**Also, to clear up anyone's "HEY DAT WAS NOT FUNY RUDE JERK WHITE BRAT TRASH" etc., I suppose I must make something obvious here. If this was a real story of mine, I wouldn't actually explain this, since readers are supposed to be PATIENT (those come at a hard price these days). But for you all, I make one thing clear.**

**ZEB'S. ACCENT. IS. NOT. SUPPOSED. TO. BE. FUNNY.**

**It has a purpose, and you'll see why later on in the story. If you're too lazy to either read these notes or think about why I would do this, then, PLEASE, for your own sake, do not criticize it.**

**I await the criticisms I get from Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous, since no one seems to have the guts to criticize without a shield of obscurity these days. But regardless, everything but pointless, rude, disrespectful blabbers of peremptory and pointless jargon will not be tolerated.**

**...Well I suppose it will be tolerated. But only thus far. I wish to hear criticisms to improve my writing, but I still have only received but a couple well-grounded and constructive piece of advice.**

**Everyone, Happy Easter, even if you are not Christian like me. If you are offended by that, I apologize. Happy Random-Sunday-In-March-Which-Happens-To-Also-Coincide-With-Easter.**


	8. Caught and Released

**I didn't die. I know, I know, I'm surprised too.**

**Sorry for my hiatus. As explained on my other recently posted fic and on my profile, things have eased up and I have the ability to write freely again.**

**I won't take too much more of your time. Enjoy the next chapter.**

**I will say this: I have but one goal, and that is to finish this story. I can see the ending from here, and know how to reach it and what the inbetweens will be.**

* * *

><p>"Keep in mind good world that poaching is a crime punishable by prison."<p>

Yeah. Right.

There's an old saying, "The less the public knows about the making of laws and sausage, the better."

This right here is a violation of both. Double whammy.

Elesa sighed at the intolerable sight in front of her.

The girl with lemon hair had just been boisterous with energy. Kids at 13 typically were built enough to have the strength to second all that childish energy leftover from grade school days. She had been climbing the political ladder in Nimbasa recently, and she basically had the power and voice of the mayor at this point, because she was such a popular idol. The concept usually ends up working a lot better than how it sounds; ya know, considering hearing that someone at just 13 years had the power of a _mayor_ in a major city because she could command intelligent creatures to beat up other creatures better than anyone else, and she had the body of a gorgeous 16 year-old would usually not sound like a recipe for success. This usually ends up being the case in many cities actually, although Nimbasa was a grossly exaggerated example of this.

"The less the public knows about the making of laws" and all.

Her flashlight-like eyes were actually proving to shine far better than anyone could have predicted. The milky white sclera was infused with passion and the chilling cyan irises were injected with determination. She had a plan, and Arceusdammit she would go through with it.

Nimbasa was a little bit…off. Things were getting better under her wing, but a lot of industrial smog still lingered over the city to where clouds sort of blended in with the sky, even in the middle of the day. There were some rundown warehouses leftover on the outskirts that she was clearing up. Other issues existed too, such as the amusement park falling behind on technology and the lack of attractions the city had overall. It was just a bad city, and if not for the somewhat updated technology and Pokemon gym, few would ever bother to show up.

Today was just another day for Elesa. Actually it was just another LAST day for her. This was the last day of warehouse inspection on her list, where she would decide what the heck Nimbasa could do with the rundown, wasted buildings.

And inside the poor place was a little Blitzle shackled to a moldy and deteriorated pole. It was kneeling next to a severely injured Zebstrika in the middle. There was a dark spot next to it… Most 13-year olds freak out at the sight of it, especially girls. If they're around company, they condemn the inanimate object, as if it makes them any less fearful of it (honestly, it makes you look like a complete idiot). Elesa?

"Oh. Blood."

Her limber legs carried her forward to the poor creature. Electric Pokemon were common in Nimbasa, but sometimes that made it a little too compelling for poachers to invade the place and capture valuable Electric-types and sell them off for who knows what. This poor guy had what was basically a giant syringe stuck in his leg, forcefully de-electrifying the Thunderbolt Pokemon.

Elesa sighed, "Seriously, this technology is so old and barbaric. You're just going to end up hurting the poor creature too much and lower his value on the market anyway." She ripped out the syringe and covered the small but open wound with some of the cloth she brought that demarcates the warehouse.

Behind her she heard someone shout to her from the entrance she just came in with a crude and commandeering voice:

"Hey little prissy, back away from the goods if you know what's good for ya!"

Elesa stood up and turned to face the perpetrator. He had a giant Mandibuzz right behind him that looked just as ruffian and cruel as he did.

The teenager just rolled her eyes and huffed out a puff of laughter.

"Really? Really? Are you seriously threatening me with an overgrown vulture? Did you even do a _little _research as to who I am?"

* * *

><p>Five minutes and one fried poacher later, Elesa was leaving the crime scene with the Blitzle limping, but still walking, right behind her. She had the Zebstrika on her shoulders, carrying it to the nearest Pokemon center.<p>

Yeah. She was carrying a full grown Zebstrika on her shoulders. I swear I was not lying when I said she was 13. If you haven't picked up that she is an incredibly weird person, you need to learn how to pay attention.

As she was escorting the injured zebra, she was trying to assess the damage to the Pokemon to lighten the load off of Nurse Joy's diagnosis so she could just go straight to the medical treatment. From what she could tell, it seemed like a lacerated muscle, an infected wound, and severe loss-of-electricity poisoning.

After she arrived she debriefed Joy and dropped off the Blitzle as well. Blitzle was supposed to just have some minor leg issues, it seemed to be taking care of itself just fine.

But then half an hour passed. Then one hour. Then two. Then half the day had gone by. Elesa refused to leave until she heard the word on the two. She was pretty much finished with her daily duties anyway.

Shortly after, Joy turned off the light from the emergency room she was working on. One of the others was still lit that one of the other Joys was working on.

"Zebstrika is hurt badly, but if it stays here for another day and a half it should be fine." Joy smiled.

Elesa let out an initial sigh of relief, but then remembered Blitzle.

"What about Blitzle?"

"…"

Elesa squirmed a little. She mustered out, "Uh…Joy…Blitzle should have been fine for the most part, right?"

The Nurse sighed and knew holding back from Nimbasa's pride and joy would be in vain and just delay the news she was going to learn eventually anyway.

"Blitzle's leg is fine…a little busted, but overall fine. It actually had been playing tough. It had taken the blunt of attacks from the poacher while Zebstrika was barely able to defend itself. I'm guessing the only reason the poacher backed off was because he wanted to let the wounds sink in to render both unable to move. He was no idiot in this line of business."

Elesa scratched her head. _Then _why_ did he use such ancient technology?_

Joy continued, "Even the needle dart he used on the Zebstrika was pretty sophisticated stuff. De-electrification can be very difficult using mobile methods and even one slip up in the process can have drastic backfire."

…

_Seriously? Even someone in such a technologically advanced line of work such as Pokemon nursing in what is supposed to be the best city in terms of technology doesn__'__t know exactly what the highest-end tech there is out there?_ _I__'__ll need to work on that for the future of this city._

Joy finally let out the bad news. "Ultimately it will be a while before I know exactly what the extent of the injuries are. I will be transferring it to a better facility for Electric-types."

Elesa was a little shocked by that, and her smooth skin shivered at the thought of that. For some reason it really bothered her that Nimbasa, the city of electricity, couldn't even take care of its own local Electric Pokemon.

_I__'__ll fix that in the future_.

* * *

><p>A year later Blitzle had finally been released from a dedicated Pokemon Hospital under the care of a Dr. Praxtyl all the way in Mauville City in Hoenn. They had the best tools to care for and make a full and complete recovery for the Blitzle.<p>

At this point, Elesa had done some research. Blitzle was the calf of the Zebstrika and his mate. She found out a while ago they actually had been running ever since that very poacher had invaded a small farm and claimed the ranch in a complete hostile takeover, and already done loads of damage to both the Pokemon he trampled through to find the Thunderbolt Pokemon and to the poor family who worked the farm. It forced them to rely on their vegetative crops and start the ranch from a point that was even further back form when they first started. The Zebstrika had coaxed his mate to hide in a hole and ran off to defend his Blitzle which the poacher was chasing. After a while, they ended up a few miles away, cornered in the warehouse.

In other words, the poacher was a complete douchenozzle.

Elesa had visited the farm and given her reward money from catching the criminal to the family. When they thanked her with a rather thick country accent, the girl with lemon hair was caught a bit off guard.

"Where are you all from? I like your accent~," she inquired.

They responded in a very warm way:

"Well hun, this here family dun came down from all da way out in good ole' backcountry Flocessy Town. A bit on da outskurts. We like wut you, baby, were doin' here in Nimbawseh so we moved up here to enjoy dis here evolotion of a city and its folks wit' ya."

The family treated her to some nice iced tea before giving her some berries when she left.

"Fanks again fo' takin' care of Zeb, da ol' dog!"

The whole experience with Blitzle had shaken something inside of Elesa. Beyond just the clear and cut pain of witnessing what happened to an innocent family, she noticed how crudely behind the town was when it came to knowing what technologically sophisticated even meant. Not only that, but she had a rekindled passion for moving Nimbasa ahead of any other town. She had the knowhow, the citizens had the means, and the Pokemon had the power.

By the time Blitzle had returned, Elesa had already captured a Zebstrika and names him "Zeb" in honor of the hospitality the broken farm had graciously gifted her.

Little Blitzle came back to the family and soon evolved into a Zebstrika, which just helped the ranch get back up to speed quickly.

It didn't take long for things to go wrong again.

Apparently the poacher didn't take enough philosophy/ethics/humanities/here's-how-to-NOT-be-a-dumbass classes in his life. He could have left gotten out on good behavior from prison, went on to use his specialized skills in Pokemon capture for the better (like a Ranger) for the better. But no, he had to use all his connections and resources to bust out of prison illegally just to try and seek revenge on the person that put him here.

But apparently someone tipped him off the wrong information, since he went straight to the ranch to carry out this revenge. He also didn't observe his previous 'prey' well enough, since he attacked the only Blitzle he saw because he didn't think that the other had evolved yet.

I could explain to you how this Blitzle was saved in a long, epic battle scene. Or I can just say Elesa is awesome and did that thing where she uses her awesome to out-awesome those who are not awesome. So let's go with that.

Blitzle went under some basic Pokemon Center treatment initially, but most of its recuperation involved basic and consistent exercise around lots of other Electric Pokemon. So our favorite supermodel took it under her wing to help its recovery.

* * *

><p>"So that's what happened to Blitzle."<p>

"Poor guy. That's why he seems so weak around his knees."

"Yeah. I almost felt bad for the poacher," mused Elesa.

Ash scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Feel bad for the bad guy? Why?"

"I mean, if he was about 30% less idiot he wouldn't have put himself in that situation."

"30%? Is that an exact statistic, or did you round up because you think I wouldn't get it?"

Elesa held back laughter. "No, silly. I didn't do that."

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. I don't like it when people do that."

"I rounded down because I didn't think you could get it."

"Alright tha— wait what?"

Elesa kept restraining herself. "You heard me~."

Ash frowned a little. "I just said I don't like that."

"But I didn't do _that_. You said you don't like it when people round _up_."

"Hey, that's playing unfair."

Her beautiful laughter started seeping into every other word. "Don't worry, it's something only Pokemon trainers would get."

"Huh?"

Elesa started to snicker out loud at this point. After a moment, Ash realized what she said and started pouting.

"What, I'm a Pokemon trainer!"

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"I even beat you to win a badge! I can prove it right here!" He reached into his jacket to pull out badge case to prove it.

"Oh yeah there was something about that my twin sister told me. Some guy named Smash Ketchup beat her or somewhere along those lines."

"His name was Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Look, right here is the Bolt badge! Along with the Trio Badge, and the Bug badge, and—wait twin sister?"

"Her name is Elesa."

"Oh shoot, I think I have the wrong girl…"

Elesa couldn't take it anymore. She scrunched up and let her volumed yet soothing laughter fill the air as she spilled onto Ash's standoffish shoulder.

People walking by the park bench just shook their heads and laughed too. Elesa always was a happy and free spirit, but she seemed even more happy and lovely lately than usual. Except one teenage guy, who glared at the two and booed Ash rather rudely as he walked by.

Not one strand of Ash's raven hair cared. He was busy being a bit too self-conscious and preoccupied with, you know, the supermodel that was leaning up against him. I don't know about you, but that's not something that happens everyday.

And if does happen everyday to you, I hate you.

Elesa wiped the tears from her eyes after a while and stood up.

Laughing in between words, she offered, "Look Ash, pff-let's walk some morhehehe."

Ash rolled his chocolate eyes. "Fine, whatever."

"You can stop trying to be hurt now."

He blushed a little at that.

Elesa laughed some more.

Ash couldn't help but start to join in now. "You are _so_ not helping."

Now it was Elesa's turn to roll her eyes. When they landed, they connected with Ash's for a moment and she blushed a little.

Not that you could tell. Models around here were good at covering that kind of thing up, to a point.

She turned her head before that point came, and Ash walked up next to her. They continued to walk through the park that afternoon, smiling and laughing. And teasing. A lot of teasing, mostly in Ash's direction of course.

* * *

><p>The two arrived at Elesa's home shortly after. As they were saying goodbye, Ash remarked:<p>

"I'm glad Pikachu had a little adventure today."

Elesa giggled, "Me too. I had a lot of fun today."

Ash nodded politely. "Honestly, I'm really happy I'm spending most of my days here with you."

Woah. Sucker punch.

Elesa suddenly found the grass incredibly interesting. Not the grass towards Ash, though, the stuff away from him. The stuff facing Ash were a bunch of meanies that said bad words like 'stupid' and 'crud'.

"Me too Ash. Me too."

Ash blinked a couple times at her curious move, but he knew her enough to know there was probably a reason that she was picking at dirt.

"Thank you for telling me that story about Blitzle. I'm glad to know you trust me enough to tell a rather personal and difficult story like that."

Elesa paused.

"…I trust you enough to tell you far more than that."

Ash perked his head to the side.

"How so?"

Elesa stood up. Well, more like she melted up, if that makes any sense. Just imagine how a supermodel would go from kneeling on her toes to standing up.

"I'll tell you one day. I promise."

"Sounds like a plan. You just gotta tell me in the next couple days or I'll be already on my way to Driftveil."

Elesa's glowing skin, glowed a little less there. Her bright face, brightened a little less as her smile fell.

_He just had to say it__…_

She exhaled her frustration in a gentle puff. Unrecognizable to anyone, of cour-

"What's wrong?"

…

Elesa pivoted to face Ash again.

"uhwuha…?" she managed.

"You seemed upset when I mentioned the bridge. Are you disappointed that it stopped me on my journey or something? Was there trouble repairing it? If so don't worry, I don't care at all."

Elesa stared for a second or two. Then she lightened up a little more.

"Don't worry, it isn't anything too big."

The boy with chocolate eyes shrugged. "Whatever you say."

He turned around with Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Probably my last day, right? Let's have fun again."

Elesa smiled again. "Yes, let's. I'll catch you later."

She waved him off until he turned the corner and disappeared from view. She held her hand in the air a second longer, then dropped it and dipped her head back to look at the sky.

_The stars really are gorgeous, aren__'__t they? I__'__m really glad he came now, not a year or two years ago._

…

_Well, he was smart enough to see I was upset, but too dense to see why._

She chuckled, but with a little bit of conceding nervousness mixed in.

_That__'__s just another aspect of the character of him I guess_.

Dinner that night, tasted a little more bitter than last's.

* * *

><p>"Heyyyy."<p>

"…"

"Heyy Pidove-for-brainss-"

"…"

"HEY ASH!"

That startled him out of his thoughts and made him slam his left hand onto the underside of the table and bonk his glass of water over, which drained out straight onto his tan skin and slipped around his muscles to give him a bit more definition.

He sighed and started wiping himself off. "What is it Iris?"

"You were stabbing nothing with your fork for a while."

Ash apologized, "Sorry, I was lost in thought a bit."

"Well duhh. You're such a kid."

"Yeah I suppose."

"No I am no—…did you just agree with me?"

Without responding, he got up and excused himself from the dinner table to head up to their room, leaving a rather baffled Iris and Cilan.

On his way back up Pikachu pushed him softly in the head. He turned while continuing to walk to see what was up.

"Piiika, pikachu, chu?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just that…Elesa…"

"Cha?"

"She isn't telling me something. And it involves something about me leaving. I don't know what it is though. And that's surprisingly frustrating."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it.<strong>

**Can I just say one thing about the anime right now...well two things. One, I am calling it an anime again. It had been reduced to a cartoon after Battle Frontier (with brief moments of good showness surfacing during the Sinnoh League and Sinnoh Ribbon Cup, and during his battles against Elesa and Skyla...which also by the way, WHY did they get rid of contests again?), but XY has been surprisingly fun and good. More than that, it's actually become a better show than a lot of the other things I'm watching this season.**

**Other thing is that because this show is doing such a good job, Amour and Shalourshipping have shot way up my list of favorite ships. Hence the profile update.**

**I was actually a bit crestfallen and sad when I saw the final air of the second OP of Corni/Korrina running with open arms to the group. I had hoped she would have traveled with them. I loved her character and her dynamic with Ash.**

**Oh well. Shows how good the show is if nothing else.**

**R&R. Read and Relax.**


	9. Way Word

Fun fact: This chapter has been done for over 5 months.

Funner fact: Fanfiction couldn't be uploaded on over my school's wifi for w/e the reason. Won't be an issue moving forward...gonna get a router for my room next year, for multiple reasons.

This is a shorter chapter than usual...sumimasen. I started fizzling on brainworks about 2/3 the way through it, so I wrapped it up. The next chapter IS being made right now.

Also, I do not like singling out reviews anymore, but QwertyWolfieguy brings up a good point I'd like to address: To start, I write here on FFic for no other reason than writing practice. It's a good way to try interesting and fun new ways to write and be critiqued (extensively...there is value in having the public review your writing but it doesn't include the personal 1-on-1 that a professional can provide) without people actually...ya know...knowing it's me. So a lot of this story is self-made ideology, and Elesa being far younger than one would expect fits within that. And it's not farfetched really at all...I've seen supermodels who are 14. Holy smokes. I'm fairly young myself so no pedophiliac comments, plis. I'm just callsin' 'em like I sees 'em.

And remember that in my self-created Pokemon world, a year takes a LOT longer than it does on Earth. So 10 and 14 is not like kid age the way it is for us.

Alright, here it is.

* * *

><p>If you do any significant research into the etymology of 'sleep' and 'dream', you come up with some very interesting results.<p>

'Dream', before anything else, was used to express the action of joy and happiness. If you "dreamt", you were feeling incredibly joyful and ecstatic regarding whatever you were "dreaming" of. Eventually the colloquial phrase of 'I dreamt of you' started approaching the meaning of 'I saw you in my sleep and it was wonderful', since frequently artists and nobility (the only ones who were literate) started reminiscing of their brief or unrequited loves in this regard, being that they could only see their special ones in their minds, and we, as people, are rendered most vulnerable to our own minds during our sleep. Idioms are a funny thing in that regard. They transform to mean something effectively tangential but fundamentally completely different from their original denotative definition. For example, when you tell someone to 'carry their own weight', you are not literally asking him or her to go pick up a few barbells and walk around with them all day. But the idea of having someone take responsibility for their…well responsibilities and the idea of carrying a load of weight are related but not equivalent.

'Sleep' on the other hand, has always meant what it means today: to fall into slumber. So while sleeping has little to no significant meaning beyond practicality, dreaming means far more than we think it does today. So while we have very little conscious control over what we dream of, actively admitting and thereby speaking of dreaming of someone or something carries a lot of weight.

D'you see that? That was a pun. I's humor. Laugh.

There may not be many more opportunities these next couple chapters.

Sleeping is something we have a say in and can control on about 3 or 4 levels, depending on your philosophy on the concept of the mind. However dreaming is completely different. It is almost impossible to control your dreams, and even in lucid dreaming we cannot consciously try to tell our brain what to think when it drifts off on its own accord. Whether we like it or not, what we truly feel and our inner thoughts are best expressed in our dreams, on whatever level you believe that (some say dreaming is shallow and just a problem-solving tool to figure out whatever extraneous thoughts are going on for God-knows-what reason). So even though we only remember about 10% of all our dreams on any given night, what we remember is still our true inner thoughts. If we ignore our dreams and try to push them away, we are effectively ignoring and pushing away ourselves.

Not that it particularly matters to Ash, for all intents and purposes. He probably already knows all this after what happened with Darkrai a while back, and with Jirachi even further back.

That night was dark and drizzling, so the moon and stars did not dare interrupt any dreaming going on. The night seemed to coax the world to sleep at this point, and Nimbasa was lulled into a great big state of rest; uncanny for it, but relaxing all the same. The standard for 'silence' seemed to drop a few decibels and the air felt still and peaceful. It would make people feel as if they were literally the only person in a frozen world. Which is quite the fun and chilling feeling when it's in a giant city.

Ash's bed was soft and comfy. It felt like a giant Altaria, and was as welcoming as a return-home sleep in that bed he had slept in for oh-so many years in Pallet. He felt the perfect temperature underneath the covers: enough heat to drift you into slumber, but enough cool air wafting through to keep it comfortable. All the factors were together, and sleep should have been easy.

For some reason, it wasn't. He should have fallen asleep a long time ago, but he just lay unmoving in one of the most relaxing situations he had been in for a solid time.

Left alone to his thoughts, he sat back and started rummaging through the thoughts filed away prematurely in his brain; the things that you encounter and register and remember. But you give them no further thought, and decide to entertain them at a later date. The first thing that came to his mind was, of course, Elesa. But not really much more to think about there…when you spend almost every hour after lunchtime and before dinner with someone, he or she spends plenty of time in your thoughts.

The second thing that came to mind was the Driftveil Drawbridge. It seemed to be close to being completed…he got word from Nurse Joy that it would be ready the day after tomorrow. That _should_ make him uber happy…but for some reason it seemed like his joy for being able to continue on his journey was forced. Don't get him wrong—he certainly still did want to continue on his conquest of the Unova League, and he was more than stoked to meet up with the alleged rough n' tough miner that led the gym over there. He also heard about some cool vigilante wanna-be superhero-type that seemed like the kinda guy you'd wanna go get a drink with.

And after that, he thought of the man in the suit a few days back, when he had just scolded Pikachu about making fun of Elesa and everyone in the train car stopped and stared at him. At the time he thought everyone was annoyed with him because he had talked about Elesa, but upon thinking about it further, it would make more sense to attribute the unwanted attention to simply him being loud. But that man in the suit said something peculiar to him:

"_So…you like Elesa, don't you?"_

Well yeah. She's super chill and hella attractive along with being a kickass gym leader. There's nothing to not like about her. And he didn't want to assume anything yet, but Ash was starting to get the feeling that Nimbasa's beloved had a lot more say in the workings of the city than she was letting on.

_At that time, I got flustered because I didn't want to be sharpie'd as just another kid with a hopeless crush on a supermodel who probably already has way too many suitors to even…start counting…_

Wait a minute. What about her boyfriend?

The thoughts seemed to weigh so much that they fell right out of Ash's lips in a cold whisper:

"If she's been spending so much time with me, what about her boyfriend?"

Shortly after, he realized he accidentally mused out loud and flung his head around with all it's messy raven hair to see if Iris was awake. Nope, she seemed snuggled and happy in her sheets. Now Cilan? Phew, he was sprawled out like a mat. Thankfully, neither were awa-

"Who?"

He jerked his head back the other direction before his body could follow. His head produced too much momentum and ended up flinging his body in a very awkward way off the bed but still attached by the sheets, as if like a bag. But Ash was a human, and humans are heavy. Gravity tends to like heavy things. Shortly after he fell -_thunk_- right to the floor, and his pillow poofed right on his head. It didn't manage to cover all the hair, though.

When he looked up, he was staring right into the darkened face of a worried Iris. She seemed far more mature with her hair down, and the expression of concern and intrigue that was spread across her face made Ash feel a bit anxious but calm and collected at the same time—sort of like he knew the person in front of him was gonna pry for information that he himself did not know, but that the person in front of him would know what to do with it better than even he could.

"Who?" She repeated.

"Who 'who'"?

"_Who_?"

"Yeah but WHO who?"

"Ya know, who-…this is getting nowhere I'm talking about whose boyfriend are you worried about?"

"Well…" Ash considered playing it off as nothing. Then he thought further about it and realized that hiding anything from Ms. Dragrons over here would be pointless and annoying. That, and she was someone he could trust.

"Elesa."

At first Iris seemed a bit shocked. And then she recovered and looked immensely excited and a bit proud.

"_THAT'S _who you've been spending all your time with?! I thought it was just with Pikachu, or some silly training!"

Ash frowned a little. "Would I really spend all my time in a city as grand and amazing as Nimbasa trai—"

"Yes."

"…"

"You know it's true."

"…"

"…well continuing on: why are you worried about her boyfriend?"

Ash sighed, "She's been spending a lot of time with me lately so I am just worried if she's been spending adequate time with him as well."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Well the answer is easy then. Go ask him."

Blink. "…that makes sense. Asking her would probably seem…"

"Accusatory?"

"Yes, accusatory."

"Then just go ask him!"

"Alright, I'll just ask…ummm…"

Iris raised an eyebrow. "Ash?"

"…"

Iris raised her other eyebrow. "Aaasssshhh?!"

"Errr…Iris I kinda don't actual—"

Iris groaned as loudly as she could without waking Cilan. Not that much less than a roar would wake him up right now.

"Ash Ketchum, you are assuming she's hooked up without even asking her?! Geez it never crossed conversation ONCE this entire week?!"

Ash shifted sheepishly in the tangled mess he was in.

Iris jumped out of her bed and quite literally flung Ash out of his little bed cradle-thing and pushed him to the door.

"Just go find out yourself you kid."

Ash turned to see her smugly grinning at her victory. Pikachu's ears twitched as he perked up and scampered over onto his favorite shoulder. Scratching his head, Ash shook it and pushed open the door.

* * *

><p>Roam the streets of Nimbasa for upwards of 7 days, and you still find places you had never been to before.<p>

The civil engineering was so beyond brilliant that you never found yourself lost or crushed in a large crowd of people. Ash doesn't have a bad sense of direction, but it's not particularly great either, so he was thankful for being able to somehow always tell where he was. He was not exactly sure why his feet were shifting in the direction they were. People talk about their feet 'carrying them places', but you never know what it's like until you are under the circumstances that make it happen. See, I'll tell you the secret to that phrase right now. Just send a payment of 500 yen to your nearest gym leader and he/she'll know what to do with it.

What? An author's gotta make a living somehow.

Sometimes you get put in situations where your body is one step ahead of the more conniving and calculatingly engaged part of your brain, and responds in ways you don't expect it to. Kind of an accidental way to really find out what you're feeling or thinking. Usually happens when you are speaking, and it can be quite annoying and troublesome.

However another common way this human psyche phenomenon manifests is for your feet to move you toward where you want to go when you don't even know where it is you yourself want to go, or even worse when you tell yourself you are going to move toward one location and are confident in your going to that location only to find yourself halfway in the opposite direction heading somewhere totally different. Now some people are just ditzes and airheadedly stumble somewhere without thinking. The difference here is as follows:

"Oh hey, i want to go eat some salad."

Actually you want a quality burger-fry (with extra SON OF A BITCH flavor). Sometimes your feet decide to override your conscious decision of salad and move toward the burger joint in the exact opposite direction of the salad bar eatery. So you're happily walking on the sidewalk toward the burger shop thinking "_Oh hey man I'm looking forward to them lettuce leaves and shit._" And then you end up in front of the doorstep to the noodle shop and THEN you realize you are at the burger shop.

"What the hell I wanted salad."

No. No you didn't. Your feet knew better and carried you where you actually wanted to go.

That's pretty much exactly what happened to Ash. Except the whole burger vs. salad thing.

His endurance is expectedly high, so he strides fairly quickly wherever he goes. By the time he realized he wasn't actually heading where he thought he was actively heading, he was quite a distance away. He thought he wanted to go talk to Elesa personally about her boyfriend situation, yet here he is standing in front of the subway. And it wasn't even the closest subway entrance to the Pokemon Center. It was actually two stations further.

The same one you have to take to go to the park Pikachu and he visited a few days back. The day he met that perverted (and most likely abnormally horny) trio of slu—…ahem girls.

_Well since I'm here anyway, might as well just take the subway and see where it takes me_.

Ash pushed open the door and walked.

* * *

><p>A few minutes and one subway ticket later he was sitting in the car ready to take it a solid 20 miles away. It was still pretty early so most people inside were commuting to work, or school. But it was so early the only students were very well-mannered individuals attending prestigious high-society etiquette-type schools, so they were just sitting peacefully and silently and were easy to miss.<p>

Most of the people going to work were dressed in sharp sports blazers and powerful ties above some fresh slacks with slicked hair and a spritz of cologne or perfume depending on gender beneath the chin. So middle to upper-class businessmen.

Very similar situation to when Ash last took this car. The difference was that today was during the middle of the work week, so there were little to no people on the subway who were not using it as a functional tool. Ash himself was basically using it as a functional tool; he just did not know what kind of tool…and for that matter he did not know what its function was anymore. He clasped his head in his strong and weathered right hand, thinking solemnly about what the next step was.

_Now what is my next step?_

I literally just told the audience that, Ash. Don't repeat what the author says; it makes me look incompetent.

_I could follow this train as long as it goes, maybe take it back to the station unless I get inspired to stop off at a random other station._

He entertained that idea for a moment, then put it in the back of his mind while he moved on to other possible lines moving forward.

* * *

><p>For that somewhat strange opening, I ask that you stick with it. It makes more sense as the plot unfolds.<p>

R&R.


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